Snowden Capital Advisors LLC Sells 44,976 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Snowden Capital Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 24.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 139,065 shares of the company's stock after selling 44,976 shares during the period. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,420 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 5,416 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 72,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,791,000 after buying an additional 9,456 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 3,171 shares of the company's stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $125,000. Finally, Burney Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 9,515 shares of the company's stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Trading Up 2.9%

NYSE MO opened at $57.99 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $43.83 and a 12 month high of $61.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $58.01 and a 200-day moving average of $55.41. The company has a market cap of $97.68 billion, a PE ratio of 8.85, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.04%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

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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