Hyman Charles D Lowers Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Hyman Charles D trimmed its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,726 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,959 shares during the period. Hyman Charles D’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,000. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $237,000. Sage Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $225,000. Simmons Bank increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 43,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,763,000 after acquiring an additional 2,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 34,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,377,000 after purchasing an additional 2,878 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $43.85. The company had a trading volume of 12,050,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,849,357. The firm has a market cap of $75.32 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.50. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $46.82.

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. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.94%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.