Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC Reduces Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,982 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,255 shares during the period. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Fairman Group LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 85.1% in the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 330.4% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $51.02 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $86.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.63, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.10. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MO shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.43.

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.