ICW Investment Advisors LLC Raises Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 21,205 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 998 shares during the quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in 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 during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $57.46 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.65 and a fifty-two week high of $59.67.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 7.10%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Altria Group

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.