Means Investment CO. Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,819 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,752 shares during the period. Means Investment CO. Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. TRU Independence Asset Management 2 LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Freedman Financial Associates Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Avengers Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 62.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
MO stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $51.36. The stock had a trading volume of 157,428 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,292,074. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.02 and a 52 week high of $52.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 142.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.40.
Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 27th. The company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.03). Altria Group had a net margin of 2.84% and a return on equity of 148.93%. The firm had revenue of $5.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.02 earnings per share. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Altria Group declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 25th will be issued a $0.86 dividend. This represents a $3.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 24th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.52%.
A number of brokerages have recently commented on MO. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Sunday, January 31st. UBS Group downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $46.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $53.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $49.90.
Altria Group Company Profile
Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cigarettes, oral tobacco products, and wine in the United States. It offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; cigars principally under the Black & Mild brand; and moist smokeless tobacco products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands, as well as provides on! oral nicotine pouches.
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