Modern Wealth Management LLC Sells 960 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Modern Wealth Management LLC cut its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,716 shares of the company’s stock after selling 960 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MO. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 24.9% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 62,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,183,000 after purchasing an additional 12,444 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1,035.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 2,351 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in Altria Group by 71.0% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 16,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $849,000 after acquiring an additional 6,907 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter worth $250,000. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 7.8% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 9,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $57.74 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.65 and a 1 year high of $59.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $54.80 and its 200-day moving average is $53.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.81, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.07%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of 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 shares of 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 report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.