Tufton Capital Management Trims Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Tufton Capital Management decreased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,454 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,055 shares during the period. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 103.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on MO shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $41.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,432,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,525,634. The stock has a market cap of $70.85 billion, a PE ratio of 9.02, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $48.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $41.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.43.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.50%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.78%.

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.