KBC Group NV Acquires 4,211 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 140,591 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,211 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Apexium Financial LP purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $561,000. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 33,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 5,883 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 63,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,321,000 after purchasing an additional 2,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in Altria Group by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 44,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,342,000 after purchasing an additional 5,720 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $51.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.72, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $53.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.29. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.92%.

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.