Sound Income Strategies LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Sound Income Strategies LLC trimmed its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,904 shares of the company’s stock after selling 211 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $204,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth about $41,000. Fairman Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 330.4% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $52.02 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.09. The company has a market cap of $88.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.79, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

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.