Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,750 shares of the company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Leisure Capital Management acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $893,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 447,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,050,000 after purchasing an additional 44,639 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $578,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $135,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in Altria Group by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 16,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 1,966 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.4 %

Altria Group stock traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.38. 13,794,252 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,969,122. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.47. The firm has a market cap of $74.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $48.04.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued 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 company had revenue of $4.72 billion during 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 was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 82.01%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Profile

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.