Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 26,030 shares of the company’s stock after selling 765 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,361,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Fairman Group LLC increased its position in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 330.4% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $53.36 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $58.03. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $53.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.21. The company has a market capitalization of $90.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.01, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 7.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.43.

Altria Group 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.