Bleakley Financial Group LLC Reduces Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC trimmed its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,496 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,560 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. HC Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. HC Advisors LLC now owns 5,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $906,000. Bristlecone Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 8,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 1,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edmp Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 92,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,739,000 after buying an additional 1,366 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $41.68 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $48.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $41.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.46. The firm has a market cap of $71.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.08 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.40%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.78%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.