Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Sold by SteelPeak Wealth LLC

SteelPeak Wealth LLC cut its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 67.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,073 shares of the company’s stock after selling 104,914 shares during the quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,999,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MO. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 62.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $954,446,000 after acquiring an additional 6,302,819 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Altria Group by 286.7% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,479,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,929,000 after purchasing an additional 3,321,262 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 438.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,637,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,749,000 after purchasing an additional 2,962,270 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at about $89,460,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,264,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $413,815,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249,525 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.75.

Insider Activity

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

Altria Group Stock Down 0.0%

Altria Group stock opened at $65.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.41. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.82 and a 52 week high of $70.51. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.52.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 103.16%.

Altria Group Company 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.