Carson Advisory Inc. Sells 1,049 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Carson Advisory Inc. decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,089 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,049 shares during the quarter. Carson Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 2.1% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.6% in the third quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $578,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 58,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 5.7% during the third quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:MO traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $43.98. The company had a trading volume of 9,052,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,887,376. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $42.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.49. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $47.37. The firm has a market cap of $75.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.19, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MO. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on 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 given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

About Altria Group

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.