FNY Investment Advisers LLC Has $2.46 Million Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

FNY Investment Advisers LLC cut its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 74.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 135,500 shares during the quarter. Altria Group comprises about 1.3% of FNY Investment Advisers LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. FNY Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 46,697 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,603,000 after acquiring an additional 40,574 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 19,893 shares in the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,476,000 after acquiring an additional 10,079 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company's stock worth $74,330,000 after purchasing an additional 32,318 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.9 %

MO traded up $0.47 on Tuesday, reaching $51.32. The stock had a trading volume of 6,388,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,673,189. The company has a market capitalization of $86.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $54.44 and a 200-day moving average of $51.92.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.28 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.95%. Altria Group's payout ratio is 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective 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, Bank of America raised Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.33.

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.