Lazari Capital Management Inc. Buys 281 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Lazari Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 18,871 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. Lazari Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Fairman Group LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $52.20 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $53.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.37. The company has a market capitalization of $88.46 billion, a PE ratio of 7.97, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS 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, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.82%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus 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.