Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,284 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,223 shares during the quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 108,222.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,590,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $849,763,000 after acquiring an additional 18,573,146 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 84.1% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,426,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,823,000 after purchasing an additional 2,478,576 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,302,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,896,798,000 after buying an additional 2,178,596 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 54.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,710,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,084,000 after buying an additional 1,653,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 17,105,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $781,883,000 after acquiring an additional 1,531,337 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $36.10 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.82.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.62. 9,807,499 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,975,794. The stock has a market cap of $76.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $41.40 and its 200 day moving average is $41.54. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $48.04.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.99%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.78%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.