Amica Retiree Medical Trust Sells 274 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Amica Retiree Medical Trust lowered its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,159 shares of the company’s stock after selling 274 shares during the period. Amica Retiree Medical Trust’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.8 %

MO stock opened at $57.74 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.54. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $59.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.61 billion, a PE ratio of 8.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.07%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

About Altria Group

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.