Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Signaturefd LLC

Signaturefd LLC decreased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 22,915 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,174 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $924,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in Altria Group by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 16,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $658,000 after buying an additional 4,213 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 67,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,729,000 after purchasing an additional 4,640 shares in the last quarter. WP Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. WP Advisors LLC now owns 29,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 49,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 40,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 4,821 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $42.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.43. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $48.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.32, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.21%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 85.78%.

Altria Group announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MO. UBS Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

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.