Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC Sells 1,043 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,078 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,043 shares during the period. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 103.2% in the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of MO traded down $0.16 on Friday, reaching $43.38. 13,794,252 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,969,122. The stock has a market cap of $74.51 billion, a PE ratio of 9.08, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $48.04.

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

Altria Group announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group raised their target price on 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 lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

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.