Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Sells 1,483 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lowered its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,080 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,483 shares during the quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 12,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $631,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.2% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 16,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $566,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Tarbox Family Office Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% during the third quarter. Tarbox Family Office Inc. now owns 5,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% during the third quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 26,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,345,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE MO opened at $55.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $93.22 billion, a PE ratio of 8.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $52.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.73. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $58.03.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MO. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price target 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, Bank of America upgraded shares of 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 given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.