First Horizon Advisors Inc. Sells 5,362 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,288 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,362 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in Altria Group by 8.8% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 431,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,159,000 after buying an additional 34,786 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 55,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,321,000 after purchasing an additional 3,873 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 36,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,517,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 32.6% during the third quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 17,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $759,000 after acquiring an additional 4,339 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.9 %

MO opened at $43.59 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $42.46 and its 200 day moving average is $41.51. The company has a market cap of $74.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $46.86.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.99%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

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.