Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co

Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co cut its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 33.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,388 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,286 shares during the quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $55.99 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $52.65 and a 200 day moving average of $52.82. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

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.