Aviance Capital Partners LLC Has $1.51 Million Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC cut its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,510 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,109 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 103.2% during the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1,800.0% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock traded down $0.10 on Monday, hitting $43.49. 9,025,462 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,846,990. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.56 and a 200 day moving average of $41.49. The stock has a market cap of $74.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $46.82.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

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.