Simplicity Wealth LLC Cuts Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Simplicity Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,049 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Taika Capital LP purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $745,000. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 74,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,872,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 98,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argentarii LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $331,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $57.79 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.65 and a 12 month high of $58.59. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $53.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.11. The company has a market cap of $97.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.82, 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, beating 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, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on MO shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group 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.