Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Sells 2,460 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 28,068 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,460 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 90,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,713,000 after purchasing an additional 2,431 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 140,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,352,000 after purchasing an additional 4,211 shares during the last quarter. Apexium Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $561,000. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 33,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 5,883 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE:MO opened at $53.36 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $58.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.43 billion, a PE ratio of 9.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $53.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.21.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 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 7.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.43.

Altria Group 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.