Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Sells 13,094 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lessened its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 90,741 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,094 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Kercheville Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kercheville Advisors LLC now owns 4,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 2.9% in the third quarter. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR grew its position in Altria Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 50,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,356,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its stake in Altria Group by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 2.4% during the third quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 7,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.75.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of MO stock opened at $65.73 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $66.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.50. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.82 and a 12 month high of $70.51.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 103.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $1,885,743.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,221,318.33. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.