Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC Sells 1,255 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC reduced its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,982 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,255 shares during the quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $731,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bill Few Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 13,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 18,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $963,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 38,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,018,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 29,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,562,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock opened at $51.02 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $54.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.10. The company has a market capitalization of $86.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.63, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.00%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. 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. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.