Amica Retiree Medical Trust Sells 274 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Amica Retiree Medical Trust reduced its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,159 shares of the company’s stock after selling 274 shares during the period. Amica Retiree Medical Trust’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.8 %

MO opened at $57.74 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.54. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.65 and a 52 week high of $59.67. The firm has a market cap of $97.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.07%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MO. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

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.