Essex Financial Services Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Essex Financial Services Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,632 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,413 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,478,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MO. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% during the 3rd 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 shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $43.82 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $42.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.49. The company has a market capitalization of $75.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $47.71.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program 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 programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.