Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,587 shares of the company’s stock after selling 249 shares during the period. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 103.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $41.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,044,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,584,349. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $48.04. The business’s 50-day moving average is $41.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.43. The company has a market capitalization of $70.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.92, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.56%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.78%.

Altria Group announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.