Stephens Inc. AR Trims Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Stephens Inc. AR cut its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 150,714 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,415 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,881,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 221,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,574,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 270,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,144,000 after purchasing an additional 6,462 shares during the last quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 12,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $669,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $52.65 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $58.03. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $53.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.47. The firm has a market cap of $89.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.75%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

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.