Heritage Investors Management Corp Sells 3,557 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Heritage Investors Management Corp lowered its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 45,232 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,557 shares during the quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.4 %

MO opened at $55.06 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $58.03. The company has a market capitalization of $93.31 billion, a PE ratio of 8.41, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.85.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.41%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MO. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised 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 report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus 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.