Coastwise Capital Group LLC Sells 7,112 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Coastwise Capital Group LLC lessened its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 52.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,338 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,112 shares during the period. Coastwise Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Intergy Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $210,000. CMG Global Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. CMG Global Holdings LLC now owns 35,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,796,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 195.8% during the 4th quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $790,000 after purchasing an additional 10,003 shares during the period. Luken Investment Analytics LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Fortune Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 41,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,162,000 after buying an additional 1,181 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO opened at $51.59 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $58.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.72, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day moving average of $53.66 and a 200 day moving average of $52.29.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MO. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.43.

Altria Group 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.