Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Front Row Advisors LLC

Front Row Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,808 shares of the company’s stock after selling 542 shares during the quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $199,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 420.0% during 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 in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MO. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of 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 issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock opened at $60.11 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $55.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.65 and a fifty-two week high of $60.18.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 6.79%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 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.