Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Holdings Lowered by Leavell Investment Management Inc.

Leavell Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,822 shares of the company’s stock after selling 288 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1,800.0% in the 3rd 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 currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MO. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $36.10 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.82.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $41.53 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.50. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $48.04.

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. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.44%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.78%.

Altria Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.