XML Financial LLC Boosts Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

XML Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 40.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,370 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,781 shares during the quarter. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,821,831,000 after acquiring an additional 3,910,738 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,508,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,935,224,000 after purchasing an additional 589,832 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,079,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,605 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,355,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,793,000 after buying an additional 191,236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,490,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,055,000 after buying an additional 1,299,703 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $51.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $54.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.07.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

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.