Greenleaf Trust Reduces Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Greenleaf Trust cut its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,196 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,141 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 103.2% in the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1,800.0% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $42.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.43. The company has a market cap of $72.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $48.04.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.31%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Company 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.