Alliancebernstein L.P. Reduces Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,014,376 shares of the company’s stock after selling 81,822 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.12% of Altria Group worth $105,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MO shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Trading Down 2.7 %

NYSE MO opened at $57.21 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.65 and a 12 month high of $60.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $55.51 and its 200 day moving average is $53.72. The stock has a market cap of $96.72 billion, a PE ratio of 8.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. On average, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.13%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

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.