Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by DT Investment Partners LLC

DT Investment Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,479 shares of the company’s stock after selling 506 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $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 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $53.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $91.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.60%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MO. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

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.