Perpetual Ltd Trims Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

by · The Markets Daily

Perpetual Ltd reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO – Free Report) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,365 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,377 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MO. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Fairman Group LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 85.1% during the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 330.4% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:MO opened at $51.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.07. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $58.03. The company has a market capitalization of $87.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders 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 7.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

Get Our Latest Research Report on MO

About Altria Group

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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