Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) VP Charles N. Whitaker Sells 22,487 Shares

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $44.29 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.07 billion, a PE ratio of 9.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $46.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business 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%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.85%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% during the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 103.2% during the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.