Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp trimmed its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 67,813 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,388 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its position in Altria Group by 10.6% in the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 12,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $631,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 5.2% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 16,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $822,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 2.9% in the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. Tarbox Family Office Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 5.6% in the third quarter. Tarbox Family Office Inc. now owns 5,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 26,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,345,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:MO opened at $55.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $93.22 billion, a PE ratio of 8.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.73. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.42%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

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.