Northstar Advisory Group LLC Sells 250 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Northstar Advisory Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,314 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Northstar Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% in the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. ZRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $43.86 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $48.04. The stock has a market cap of $77.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50 day moving average is $41.34 and its 200 day moving average is $41.53.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.94%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 85.78%.

Altria Group announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $36.10 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.82.

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.