Wealth Alliance Decreases Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Wealth Alliance reduced its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,684 shares of the company’s stock after selling 424 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MO. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 21,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $987,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Day & Ennis LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Day & Ennis LLC now owns 5,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO opened at $41.26 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $48.04. The company has a market capitalization of $70.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.87 and a 200 day moving average of $41.42.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. Research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 9.50%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 85.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.