Cypress Wealth Services LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Cypress Wealth Services LLC lowered its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 639 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Fairman Group LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 330.4% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $51.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.91. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.86%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of 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. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two 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, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.43.

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.