Cannell & Spears LLC Decreases Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Cannell & Spears LLC reduced its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 46.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,110 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,725 shares during the quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO traded up $0.81 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $57.93. The company had a trading volume of 14,306,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,970,489. The company has a market capitalization of $97.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $55.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.72. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.65 and a 52 week high of $60.18.

Remove Ads

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.00.

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.