Dover Advisors LLC Sells 3,403 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Dover Advisors LLC decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 26.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,634 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,403 shares during the quarter. Dover Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $504,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MO. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $55.01 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $52.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.75. The company has a market capitalization of $93.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. 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 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

About Altria Group

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.