Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Ellenbecker Investment Group

Ellenbecker Investment Group lessened its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 35,436 shares of the company’s stock after selling 499 shares during the quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Signet Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $278,000. Courier Capital LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 15,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $801,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $720,000 after buying an additional 639 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC now owns 4,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 54.6% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 19,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $989,000 after acquiring an additional 6,872 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $50.84 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $58.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $54.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.16 billion, a PE ratio of 8.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

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.