Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Van Cleef Asset Management Inc

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 59.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,378 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,796 shares during the quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 103.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% in the fourth 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. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO traded up $0.62 during trading on Thursday, hitting $43.54. The company had a trading volume of 14,204,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,996,659. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $48.04. The company has a market cap of $74.79 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.05 and a 200-day moving average of $41.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.