Advisory Services Network LLC Sells 21,424 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Advisory Services Network LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 192,756 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,424 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the third quarter worth $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 103.2% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.3 %

MO traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $45.49. 4,727,695 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,044,842. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $46.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.