Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Evanson Asset Management LLC

Evanson Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,022 shares of the company’s stock after selling 328 shares during the quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 31,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,304,000 after acquiring an additional 2,122 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth approximately $3,128,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 293.6% in the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after purchasing an additional 41,432 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $43.62. 9,805,972 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,809,103. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $48.04. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $41.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.99%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MO shares. UBS Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $36.10 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.82.

Altria Group Company 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.