Cedar Wealth Management LLC Cuts Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Cedar Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 117,624 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,635 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up 2.2% of Cedar Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Cedar Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth approximately $1,394,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth approximately $2,183,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.5% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 2,797,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,761,000 after purchasing an additional 120,017 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth approximately $330,000. Finally, Allen Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.7% during the third quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 7,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $57.46 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.65 and a 1 year high of $59.67. The firm has a market cap of $97.14 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $54.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.10%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued 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.

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.