Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 7,787 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 24.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 24,606 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,787 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 895.7% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $57.19 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.10. The company has a market capitalization of $96.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.65 and a 52-week high of $60.18.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.13%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

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.