Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Slocum Gordon & Co LLP

Slocum Gordon & Co LLP lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,260 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% during the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.1 %

MO opened at $52.66 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03. The firm has a market cap of $89.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.42.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its 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, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.