Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Scotia Capital Inc.

Scotia Capital Inc. reduced its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 89,035 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,335 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MO. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 895.7% in the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 697 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MO. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $54.00.

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Altria Group Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.44 on Tuesday, hitting $57.57. 4,449,916 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,012,671. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.65 and a 1-year high of $60.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $56.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.10.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Altria Group 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.