HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Has $3.95 Million Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 18.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 73,255 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,531 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MO. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,679,000 after purchasing an additional 46,697 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in Altria Group by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,215,000 after buying an additional 19,893 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,573,000 after acquiring an additional 12,011 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Altria Group by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 706,967 shares of the company's stock worth $36,084,000 after acquiring an additional 54,102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 89,761 shares of the company's stock worth $4,581,000 after acquiring an additional 29,421 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MO. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO traded down $1.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $58.96. The stock had a trading volume of 19,146,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,908,858. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.65 and a twelve month high of $60.20. The stock has a market cap of $99.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.00, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $55.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.65.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

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.