Cypress Capital Group Sells 7,622 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Cypress Capital Group cut its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 65,216 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,622 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group's holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MO. Financial Advocates Investment Management purchased a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter worth about $209,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 14,090 shares of the company's stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 2,485 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,664 shares of the company's stock worth $1,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,321 shares during the period. BSW Wealth Partners purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $201,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 387,382 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,772,000 after buying an additional 25,206 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on MO shares. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $55.95. The stock had a trading volume of 7,409,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,879,282. The business has a fifty day moving average of $52.95 and a 200 day moving average of $53.01. The firm has a market cap of $94.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.54, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.65 and a 12 month high of $58.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. On average, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.29%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.