Centerpoint Advisors LLC Sells 250 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Centerpoint Advisors LLC lessened its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,679,000 after purchasing an additional 46,697 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Altria Group by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,215,000 after buying an additional 19,893 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,573,000 after acquiring an additional 12,011 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,508,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,935,224,000 after acquiring an additional 589,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 729.8% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,731,932 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $53.37 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $58.03. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $52.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.61. The company has a market cap of $90.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. Equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.65%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.