NorthRock Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

NorthRock Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 16.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 137,799 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,101 shares during the period. Altria Group accounts for 0.5% of NorthRock Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,456,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,857,271,000 after buying an additional 840,559 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Altria Group by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,609,568 shares of the company's stock worth $698,432,000 after purchasing an additional 42,490 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company's stock worth $373,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343,094 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,174,355 shares of the company's stock worth $381,278,000 after purchasing an additional 722,258 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,464,930 shares of the company's stock worth $271,850,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038,408 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO traded up $0.13 on Friday, hitting $46.08. 9,243,539 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,468,400. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.74. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $46.34. The company has a market cap of $79.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.51%. Altria Group's payout ratio is 82.01%.

About Altria Group

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.