Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,224 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,202 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc increased its stake in Altria Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $55.06 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $93.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.85.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share 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 analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current 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 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 7.41%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.