Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Catalyst Financial Partners LLC

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 15.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,636 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,112 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. KPP Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,128,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 293.6% in the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,336,000 after purchasing an additional 41,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Altria Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,011,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,789 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.29. 9,872,659 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,827,415. The company has a market cap of $76.07 billion, a PE ratio of 9.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $46.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.50.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.85%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.