Coastwise Capital Group LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Coastwise Capital Group LLC decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 52.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,338 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,112 shares during the quarter. Coastwise Capital Group LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company's stock worth $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc increased its position 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 valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP increased 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of MO traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $52.20. The company had a trading volume of 9,546,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,927,325. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $53.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.29. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.82%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.29.

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.