Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stake Lessened by Investment Advisory Group LLC

Investment Advisory Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,432 shares of the company’s stock after selling 316 shares during the quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,679,000 after acquiring an additional 46,697 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 15.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,603,000 after purchasing an additional 40,574 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,215,000 after purchasing an additional 19,893 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 4.2% during the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,476,000 after purchasing an additional 10,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,330,000 after buying an additional 32,318 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $51.47 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $87.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.69, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.11. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

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.