Sentry Investment Management LLC Has $792,000 Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Sentry Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,139 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,464 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $792,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 20,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 1,565 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Altria Group by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 32,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,711,000 after buying an additional 2,823 shares in the last quarter. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV increased its stake in Altria Group by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV now owns 2,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares during the period. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV raised its holdings in Altria Group by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV now owns 19,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after acquiring an additional 3,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in Altria Group by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 73,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,824,000 after acquiring an additional 4,488 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $55.15 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 7.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

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.