Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Radnor Capital Management LLC

Radnor Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 26,196 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,679,000 after acquiring an additional 46,697 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 15.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,603,000 after buying an additional 40,574 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Altria Group by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,215,000 after buying an additional 19,893 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% in the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,476,000 after acquiring an additional 10,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,330,000 after acquiring an additional 32,318 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $51.32 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $54.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.92. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03. The firm has a market cap of $86.98 billion, a PE ratio of 8.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.95%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.33.

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.