Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. cut its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,862 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,831 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 4.3% in the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 2.6% during the third quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Salvus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 58,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $43.81. The company had a trading volume of 11,556,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,972,807. The company has a market capitalization of $75.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $48.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Altria Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

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.