SteelPeak Wealth LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

SteelPeak Wealth LLC cut its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 162,559 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,352 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $8,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MO. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Fairman Group LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 330.4% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $52.54 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $53.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.77%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.92%.

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.