Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Raises Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 522,448 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,441 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $27,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lifted its position in Altria Group by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $54.86 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $92.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $52.69 and a 200 day moving average of $52.83. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.44%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

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.