Yousif Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 176,322 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,435 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 103.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $43.02 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.45. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $48.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.89 billion, a PE ratio of 9.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 85.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on MO shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

About Altria Group

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.