Signaturefd LLC Sells 4,174 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Signaturefd LLC decreased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,915 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,174 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% in the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1,800.0% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Altria Group stock opened at $42.57 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $48.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $41.95 and its 200 day moving average is $41.43. The company has a market cap of $73.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.32, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.78%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

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.