Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Buckhead Capital Management LLC

Buckhead Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,659 shares of the company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Buckhead Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. KPP Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,128,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 293.6% in the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 41,432 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,011,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,789 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MO. UBS Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered 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 issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.0 %

MO stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $43.82. 7,359,533 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,921,036. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $47.71. The company has a market cap of $75.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 82.01%.

Altria Group announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Company 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.