Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Position Lessened by FLC Capital Advisors

FLC Capital Advisors lowered its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,044 shares of the company’s stock after selling 352 shares during the quarter. FLC Capital Advisors’ holdings in Altria Group were worth $734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Fairman Group LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 85.1% in the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 330.4% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $51.92 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03. The company has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $54.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.99.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.43.

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.