Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,481 shares of the company’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $234,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,679,000 after acquiring an additional 46,697 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,215,000 after purchasing an additional 19,893 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,573,000 after purchasing an additional 12,011 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 706,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,084,000 after buying an additional 54,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 89,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,581,000 after buying an additional 29,421 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $57.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.14 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $54.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.65 and a 12 month high of $59.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. 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 note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

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.