Ellenbecker Investment Group Has $1.59 Million Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Ellenbecker Investment Group lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,373 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,081 shares during the period. Altria Group comprises 0.4% of Ellenbecker Investment Group’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Ellenbecker Investment Group’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MO. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $42.87. 16,824,854 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,920,313. The stock has a market cap of $73.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.43. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $48.04.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.78%.

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.