Hohimer Wealth Management LLC Has $1.48 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Hohimer Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 37.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,647 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,321 shares during the quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 1.9% during the 3rd 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 increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 42,490 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,526,000 after buying an additional 1,343,094 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,174,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,278,000 after buying an additional 722,258 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 19.1% in 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 during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 transaction, 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 hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $0.74 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $45.58. The stock had a trading volume of 6,479,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,562,528. The firm has a market cap of $78.29 billion, a PE ratio of 9.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.86. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $46.60.

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

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.60%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report 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, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.