Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Alpha Cubed Investments LLC

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,115 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,273 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1,800.0% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MO. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $43.70 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $47.71. The stock has a market cap of $75.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.17, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.33 and a 200-day moving average of $41.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.97%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

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.