Marshall Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its holdings in Altria Group by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 12,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $631,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 16,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $822,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Tarbox Family Office Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tarbox Family Office Inc. now owns 5,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 26,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,345,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $55.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $93.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $58.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.73.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.42%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

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.