Bellevue Asset Management LLC Has $143,000 Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Bellevue Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,538 shares of the company’s stock after selling 254 shares during the period. Bellevue Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 103.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $0.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.59. The stock had a trading volume of 11,228,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,736,930. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.51. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $46.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.99%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on MO shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

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.