Bailard Inc. Sells 1,511 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Bailard Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,601 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,511 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 2.1% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Day & Ennis LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Day & Ennis LLC now owns 5,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salvus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $43.37 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $48.04. The stock has a market cap of $74.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Altria Group declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.