Patten & Patten Inc. TN Sells 422 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Patten & Patten Inc. TN decreased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,875 shares of the company’s stock after selling 422 shares during the quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $58.97 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $53.75 and a 200 day moving average of $53.31. The company has a market capitalization of $99.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.00, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.65 and a 1-year high of $59.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.92%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.