Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Sonora Investment Management Group LLC

Sonora Investment Management Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,212 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,143 shares during the quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Fairman Group LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 921 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE:MO opened at $51.59 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.64. 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MO shares. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

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.