Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by HBK Sorce Advisory LLC

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lowered its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,019 shares of the company’s stock after selling 544 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in Altria Group by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 26,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 5,719 shares during the last quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $267,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 3.2% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 32,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,656,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co boosted its stake in Altria Group by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 58,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,983,000 after buying an additional 7,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 209,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,694,000 after buying an additional 12,496 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of 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 raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $58.50 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $40.65 and a one year high of $59.67. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $53.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.93, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

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.