Foundry Partners LLC Sells 80,686 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Foundry Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 484,211 shares of the company's stock after selling 80,686 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up approximately 1.3% of Foundry Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Foundry Partners LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $25,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $963,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 2,103.4% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 50,766 shares of the company's stock worth $2,591,000 after purchasing an additional 48,462 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its stake in Altria Group by 48.7% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 57,096 shares of the company's stock worth $2,914,000 after buying an additional 18,700 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 88,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,497,000 after buying an additional 3,389 shares during the period. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,032 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,145,000 after acquiring an additional 5,542 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO traded down $1.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $56.05. The company had a trading volume of 16,322,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,941,049. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.65 and a twelve month high of $60.18. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $55.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.80. The company has a market capitalization of $94.77 billion, a PE ratio of 8.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

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 for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS 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 $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.28%. Altria Group's payout ratio is 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.