Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Main Street Group LTD

Main Street Group LTD cut its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 30.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,494 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,075 shares during the period. Main Street Group LTD’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of MO stock opened at $56.49 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.35. The company has a market capitalization of $95.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $43.83 and a 1-year high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MO shares. 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.00.

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.