Blue Trust Inc. Reduces Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Blue Trust Inc. reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 41.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,364 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,694 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company's stock worth $2,060,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company's stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company's stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company's stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company's stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MO. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock traded up $0.97 on Thursday, hitting $54.31. The stock had a trading volume of 6,731,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,273,662. The company's 50 day moving average price is $52.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.51%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

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.