Financial Partners Group LLC Sells 429 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Financial Partners Group LLC decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,968 shares of the company’s stock after selling 429 shares during the quarter. Altria Group makes up approximately 1.1% of Financial Partners Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Financial Partners Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,679,000 after purchasing an additional 46,697 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 15.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,603,000 after acquiring an additional 40,574 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted 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 acquiring an additional 19,893 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,476,000 after purchasing an additional 10,079 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,330,000 after purchasing an additional 32,318 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $51.17 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $54.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.10. The firm has a market cap of $86.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.97%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised 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 report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.