Kanawha Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Kanawha Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,095 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,116 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $946,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $53.71 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $91.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $52.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.60%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Company 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.