Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Bard Financial Services Inc.

Bard Financial Services Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 140,222 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,125 shares during the quarter. Altria Group accounts for 0.9% of Bard Financial Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 85.1% in the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.33.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE MO traded down $0.75 on Monday, hitting $52.39. The company had a trading volume of 2,608,307 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,511,742. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.85, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50 day moving average of $54.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

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.