Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,068 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,460 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,468,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth about $41,000. Fairman Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 330.4% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MO shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $53.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $90.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $53.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.21. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.65%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.92%.

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.