Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Position Lessened by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank decreased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 393,237 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,089 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $15,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. KPP Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,128,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 293.6% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 41,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Altria Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,011,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,789 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $41.26 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $48.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.87 and its 200-day moving average is $41.42. The company has a market capitalization of $70.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The company had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 85.78%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

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.