Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Sold by Tufton Capital Management

Tufton Capital Management decreased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,705 shares of the company’s stock after selling 815 shares during the quarter. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $507,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. abrdn plc raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.4% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 221,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,279,000 after purchasing an additional 7,366 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $208,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in Altria Group by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 48,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 7,262 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its stake in Altria Group by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 54,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 87,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $55.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $93.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $58.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.85.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.41%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

About Altria Group

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.