Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. cut its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,174 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,325 shares during the quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MO. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 103.2% during the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 1,800.0% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.7 %

MO stock traded up $0.32 during trading on Monday, hitting $43.70. 4,701,024 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,927,315. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $48.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $42.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

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.