Diversify Advisory Services LLC Sells 1,205 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC lessened its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 64,044 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,205 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MO. Diversify Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $218,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 17,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $899,000 after acquiring an additional 1,781 shares during the last quarter. RoundAngle Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $1,362,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 16,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $878,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,370,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $51.92 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s fifty day moving average is $54.29 and its 200 day moving average is $51.99. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 68.92%.

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.