Canal Capital Management LLC Has $11.39 Million Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Canal Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 197,565 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,721 shares during the quarter. Altria Group accounts for about 1.6% of Canal Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Canal Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $11,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 8.6% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 335,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,158,000 after purchasing an additional 26,624 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,522,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,677,000 after purchasing an additional 44,303 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,073,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $797,587,000 after purchasing an additional 814,665 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 155.4% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 31,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,062,000 after buying an additional 18,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 144,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,561,000 after buying an additional 17,429 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.11.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $65.07 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.82 and a fifty-two week high of $70.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $65.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.62. The firm has a market cap of $108.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Altria Group news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $1,885,743.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,221,318.33. The trade was a 13.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Altria Group Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.