Next Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Next Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,576 shares of the company’s stock after selling 773 shares during the period. Next Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $58.31 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.65 and a 12 month high of $59.67.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.00%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

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.