Metis Global Partners LLC Has $1.91 Million Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Metis Global Partners LLC lessened its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,415 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,352 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,456,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,857,271,000 after purchasing an additional 840,559 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,609,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,432,000 after acquiring an additional 42,490 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343,094 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 8.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,174,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,278,000 after acquiring an additional 722,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,464,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,850,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038,408 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $43.85 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.50. The company has a market capitalization of $75.32 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $46.82.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.94%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 82.01%.

Altria Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective 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 given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.