Catalyst Financial Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,636 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,112 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,225,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,110,000 after buying an additional 64,062 shares in the last quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 61,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,479,000 after buying an additional 5,958 shares in the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $217,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO traded up $0.44 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.29. The stock had a trading volume of 9,872,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,827,415. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $46.67. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.50. The company has a market capitalization of $76.07 billion, a PE ratio of 9.27, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.85%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research 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 lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.