12,223 Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Purchased by Kennedy Investment Group

Kennedy Investment Group acquired a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 12,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $639,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,821,831,000 after buying an additional 3,910,738 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,508,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,935,224,000 after acquiring an additional 589,832 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,079,919,000 after buying an additional 1,003,605 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its stake in Altria Group by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,034,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,916,000 after purchasing an additional 670,858 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,051,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,786,000 after buying an additional 35,953 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.7 %

Altria Group stock opened at $52.54 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.26. The stock has a market cap of $89.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MO. Barclays boosted their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. 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 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 started coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

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.