WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Sells 1,131 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 16.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,791 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,131 shares during the quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Constant Guidance Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $612,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 9,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Sage Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,573,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,655,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 17,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $907,000 after acquiring an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $53.37 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $52.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.57. The company has a market capitalization of $90.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.65%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.