Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,283 shares of the company’s stock after selling 276 shares during the period. Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Patten Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 4,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC now owns 57,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,855 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,127,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,972 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 125,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,582,000 after acquiring an additional 21,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 13,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 2,554 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 2.6 %

Altria Group stock opened at $57.33 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.96. The stock has a market cap of $96.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.12%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

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.