Diversify Advisory Services LLC Sells 1,205 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC lowered its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 64,044 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,205 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Fairman Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 330.4% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Altria Group stock opened at $51.92 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $54.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.99. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03. The company has a market capitalization of $87.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. Altria Group’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.86%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.43.

About Altria Group

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.