Signaturefd LLC Acquires 2,912 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,244 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,912 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,821,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910,738 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,127,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,972 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,605 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,488,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,678,000 after purchasing an additional 93,121 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,232,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,310,000 after purchasing an additional 197,945 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $58.87 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $59.67. The company has a market cap of $99.53 billion, a PE ratio of 8.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $53.89 and a 200 day moving average of $53.35.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.93%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group 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.