Pinion Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Pinion Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,839 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,188 shares during the quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alta Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC now owns 57,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,855 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,127,218,000 after buying an additional 2,296,972 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 125,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,582,000 after acquiring an additional 21,281 shares in the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 13,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $707,000 after acquiring an additional 2,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $57.33 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $52.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. On average, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.12%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut 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 note on Friday, January 31st. Two 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

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.