Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 1,122 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,669 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,122 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $58.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $59.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $55.07 and its 200 day moving average is $53.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

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.