Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Principle Wealth Partners LLC

Principle Wealth Partners LLC cut its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,283 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,405 shares during the quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MO. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1,800.0% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock opened at $43.38 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $48.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.51 billion, a PE ratio of 9.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.45.

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

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.04%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

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.