Corient Private Wealth LLC Has $19.64 Million Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Corient Private Wealth LLC lessened its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 486,704 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,120 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $19,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MO. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 103.2% in the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1,800.0% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO opened at $45.64 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.39 billion, a PE ratio of 9.55, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.54 and its 200-day moving average is $41.89. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $46.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Altria Group Profile

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.