Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Concord Wealth Partners

Concord Wealth Partners cut its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 39.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,752 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,460 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners’ holdings in Altria Group were worth $272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 58,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.7% in the third quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MO. StockNews.com cut 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 set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned 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 Stock Performance

MO opened at $43.82 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $75.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $42.39 and a 200-day moving average of $41.49. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $47.71.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.95%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.