Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Investment Advisory Group LLC

Investment Advisory Group LLC reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,432 shares of the company’s stock after selling 316 shares during the period. Investment Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Fairman Group LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 330.4% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $51.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $87.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $54.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.11.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.93%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MO. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Company 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.