Level Four Advisory Services LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC lowered its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,272 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,475 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $58.17 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $59.67. The company has a market cap of $98.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.01%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded 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 report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.