Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC cut its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 824,751 shares of the company's stock after selling 45,177 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $33,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1,800.0% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.35 on Wednesday, hitting $45.85. The stock had a trading volume of 9,434,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,703,103. The stock has a market cap of $78.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $46.34. The company's 50 day moving average price is $43.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.63.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.55%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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