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

Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC cut its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,564 shares during the quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $429,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in Altria Group by 156.6% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 126,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,086,000 after acquiring an additional 76,932 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 82,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,325,000 after buying an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. Successful Portfolios LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Successful Portfolios LLC now owns 10,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 9,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 1,130 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MO traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $43.62. The company had a trading volume of 9,805,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,809,103. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $48.04. The stock has a market cap of $76.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $41.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.08 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 85.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $36.10 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.82.

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.