RiverFront Investment Group LLC Buys New Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in Altria Group by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,821,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910,738 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,127,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,972 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 136.4% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,022,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,737,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,317,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,481,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096,205 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MO opened at $58.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.35 billion, a PE ratio of 8.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.65 and a 52 week high of $59.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $55.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.01%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group 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.