Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 44.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,242 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,008 shares during the quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 1.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 0.3% during the third 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 last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343,094 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 8.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,174,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,278,000 after acquiring an additional 722,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in Altria Group by 19.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,464,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,850,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038,408 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on MO shares. UBS Group increased their price target 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Altria Group stock traded down $0.17 on Friday, hitting $43.37. The stock had a trading volume of 13,793,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,018,917. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $48.04. The stock has a market cap of $74.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.49, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its 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. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 85.78%.

Altria Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.