Capital Investment Counsel Inc Sells 307 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,884 shares of the company’s stock after selling 307 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 25.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 457,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,353,000 after purchasing an additional 93,654 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 42,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,157,000 after buying an additional 4,032 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $828,000. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 38,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,949,000 after buying an additional 2,440 shares during the period. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 100.0% during the third quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MO. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $54.31 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $58.03. The stock has a market cap of $92.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $52.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.51%. Altria Group’s payout ratio 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.