Tufton Capital Management Lowers Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Tufton Capital Management cut its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,454 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,055 shares during the period. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 21,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Day & Ennis LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Day & Ennis LLC now owns 5,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $41.25. 2,432,280 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,525,634. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.43. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $48.04. The company has a market cap of $70.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The company had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.