Synergy Asset Management LLC Trims Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Synergy Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,832 shares of the company’s stock after selling 415 shares during the quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $621,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Enzi Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Enzi Wealth now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Cortland Associates Inc. MO boosted its position in Altria Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Cortland Associates Inc. MO now owns 18,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $944,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 8,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 432,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,604,000 after acquiring an additional 44,907 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MO. Citigroup boosted their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price 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. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $52.81 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $58.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $53.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. As a group, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

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.