Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Keystone Financial Planning Inc.

Keystone Financial Planning Inc. lessened its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 109,694 shares of the company’s stock after selling 381 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up approximately 1.8% of Keystone Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Keystone Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. AGF Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,351,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 163.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 50,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,317,000 after buying an additional 31,568 shares during the period. 1ST Source Bank raised its stake in Altria Group by 14.0% during the second quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 6,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter worth about $1,428,000. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 63.4% during the second quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 54,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 21,163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of MO traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $50.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,324,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,334,336. The company has a 50 day moving average of $54.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.84. The firm has a market cap of $86.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.28 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MO. Barclays raised their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock 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 research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.33.

Altria Group Company 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.