5,255 Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Purchased by Callan Capital LLC

Callan Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 5,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Altria Group stock traded down $0.16 on Friday, reaching $43.38. 13,794,252 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,969,122. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $48.04. The company has a market capitalization of $74.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.07, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.18 and a 200 day moving average of $41.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. UBS Group boosted 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

About Altria Group

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.