Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by Lmcg Investments LLC

Lmcg Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 30.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,314 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,023 shares during the quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $905,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% in the second quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in Altria Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $51.47 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $54.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.07. The company has a market cap of $87.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.69, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.28 EPS. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid 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 payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment 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, Altria Group 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.