Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Slocum Gordon & Co LLP

Slocum Gordon & Co LLP trimmed its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,260 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Realta Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 9,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $291,000. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $376,000. William Allan Corp increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 4,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 235,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,328,000 after acquiring an additional 12,844 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $52.66 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $58.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.42.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.