Sage Capital Advisors llc Acquires 1,989 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Sage Capital Advisors llc boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,167 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,989 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up 1.6% of Sage Capital Advisors llc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Sage Capital Advisors llc’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 63.9% during the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.33.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of MO stock traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $50.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,182,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,839,537. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $58.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.73.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.02%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

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.