Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Sells 620 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. cut its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,439 shares of the company’s stock after selling 620 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Fairman Group LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 330.4% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO opened at $52.81 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $53.81 and a 200-day moving average of $52.29. The company has a market capitalization of $89.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.28 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.43.

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.