Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,030 shares of the company’s stock after selling 765 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MO. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Fairman Group LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 330.4% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $53.36 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03. The company has a market cap of $90.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.21.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

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.