Leavell Investment Management Inc. Increases Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,501 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Edmp Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 93,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,866,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas lifted its position in Altria Group by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 71,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,762,000 after acquiring an additional 3,128 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $112,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a 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 research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $53.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $90.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $58.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $52.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.65%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

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.