Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC

Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,004 shares of the company’s stock after selling 195 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. abrdn plc grew its stake in Altria Group by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 221,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,279,000 after acquiring an additional 7,366 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 54,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,781,000 after buying an additional 1,073 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth $209,000. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.7% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 153,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,816,000 after acquiring an additional 4,004 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.4 %

MO stock opened at $55.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $94.61 billion, a PE ratio of 8.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $52.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.89. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.