Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 311,127 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,529 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $16,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Taylor Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Taylor Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $1,095,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 32,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,686,000 after buying an additional 2,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 45,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,387,000 after buying an additional 5,325 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO opened at $58.87 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $53.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.53 billion, a PE ratio of 8.99, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.65 and a fifty-two week high of $59.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on MO. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.