Delta Financial Group Inc. Has $1.51 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Delta Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 28,820 shares of the company’s stock after selling 242 shares during the quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its stake in Altria Group by 10.6% in the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 12,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.2% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 16,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $822,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% in the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $566,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Tarbox Family Office Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% in the third quarter. Tarbox Family Office Inc. now owns 5,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 26,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,345,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $55.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.73. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03. The firm has a market cap of $93.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.40, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS 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 $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of 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 report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group 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.