Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 43,920 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,080 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. KPP Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at about $3,128,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 293.6% in the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after purchasing an additional 41,432 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,011,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,789 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:MO opened at $45.74 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $44.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.58. The company has a market cap of $78.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $47.19.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

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.