Krilogy Financial LLC Sells 24,823 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Krilogy Financial LLC cut its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 30.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 57,150 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,823 shares during the quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 86,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,518,000 after purchasing an additional 4,652 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its holdings in Altria Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 43,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196 shares during the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 134.8% in the fourth quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 898 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 6,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $51.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $87.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $54.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.95. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.86%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.43.

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.