Convergence Investment Partners LLC Sells 6,920 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC decreased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 51,043 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,920 shares during the period. Altria Group comprises about 1.1% of Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $0.16 on Friday, hitting $43.38. The company had a trading volume of 13,794,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,969,122. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.46. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $48.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.04%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.01%.

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.