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

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 551,451 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,777 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $29,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Fairman Group LLC increased 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 valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 330.4% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $50.82 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $54.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.64. 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 released 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. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. Altria Group’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.03%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 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.