Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. cut its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 59,862 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,831 shares during the quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MO. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. KPP Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,128,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 293.6% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 41,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,011,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,789 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.0 %

Altria Group stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $43.81. 11,556,570 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,972,807. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $48.04. The firm has a market cap of $75.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.26 and a 200 day moving average of $41.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.01%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.