Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by WASHINGTON TRUST Co

WASHINGTON TRUST Co lowered its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,120 shares of the company’s stock after selling 346 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 103.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $36.10 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.82.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $43.74. The company had a trading volume of 4,355,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,716,633. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.53. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $48.04. The company has a market capitalization of $77.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.58, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.08 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.96%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 85.78%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.