Horizon Advisory Services Inc. Acquires Shares of 7,287 Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Horizon Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 7,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $381,000. Altria Group makes up approximately 0.2% of Horizon Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,679,000 after buying an additional 46,697 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.7% in 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 in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,573,000 after purchasing an additional 12,011 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $2,935,224,000 after purchasing an additional 589,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 729.8% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731,932 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $55.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $93.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.42, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $52.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.78. 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, 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 net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.40%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.