Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 39.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,295 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,385 shares during the quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% in the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Whitener Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 2.6% in the third quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 58,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note 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 given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $43.81 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $48.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.17, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 business had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership 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.