Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 401 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,542 shares of the company’s stock after selling 401 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of 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 research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of 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. Two research 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.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $56.35 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.72 and a fifty-two week high of $58.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $52.90 and its 200 day moving average is $52.99. The stock has a market cap of $95.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

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.