Pinion Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Pinion Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,839 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,188 shares during the period. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $933,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. 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 in the last quarter. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $57.33 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.96. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03. The firm 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 (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.