Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc.

Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 35,899 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,484 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up approximately 1.1% of Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,877,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Fairman Group LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO traded up $0.02 on Monday, reaching $50.89. The company had a trading volume of 2,136,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,171,477. The company’s fifty day moving average is $54.56 and its 200 day moving average is $51.84. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03. The stock has a market cap of $86.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.02%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

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.