Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Holdings Reduced by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 431,012 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,364 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank's holdings in Altria Group were worth $17,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MO. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,845 shares of the company's stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 761,453 shares of the company's stock worth $30,716,000 after purchasing an additional 8,613 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,472,778 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,412,000 after buying an additional 13,165 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 57,111 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,304,000 after buying an additional 11,111 shares during the period. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,185 shares of the company's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 1,421 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.9 %

Altria Group stock traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $43.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,196,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,879,438. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $46.86. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $42.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.51.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The company's revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $46.90.

Altria Group 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.

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