Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC Sells 12,261 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC trimmed its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 96.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 513 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,261 shares during the period. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $26,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Fairman Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 330.4% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of MO stock traded up $0.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $51.92. 6,528,941 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,772,463. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $54.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group's payout ratio is 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.43.

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.