First Foundation Advisors Sells 3,312 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

First Foundation Advisors trimmed its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,732 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,312 shares during the period. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Altria Group stock opened at $56.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $95.44 billion, a PE ratio of 8.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.00. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.65 and a 12 month high of $60.18.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.23%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

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.