Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lowered its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 35.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 114,434 shares of the company’s stock after selling 62,055 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MO. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 895.7% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the period. one8zero8 LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,682,000. Choate Investment Advisors increased its position in Altria Group by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 12,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $648,000 after acquiring an additional 4,869 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 947,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,525,000 after acquiring an additional 152,945 shares during the period. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 67,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,521,000 after acquiring an additional 6,484 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE MO opened at $58.87 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $53.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.35. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $59.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.99, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

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.