LVW Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

LVW Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,771 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,722 shares during the quarter. LVW Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Fairman Group LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 85.1% during the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 330.4% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $51.92 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03. The company has a market capitalization of $87.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $54.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.99.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MO. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.