N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC Sells 1,521 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lowered its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 22.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,236 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,521 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $211,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 75,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,060,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 5,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $1,315,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 139,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 23,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 1,870 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $43.85. 12,050,526 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,849,357. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.50. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $46.82.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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

Altria Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.