C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors Grows Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 79.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,122 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,784 shares during the quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors’ holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,821,831,000 after buying an additional 3,910,738 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 729.8% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731,932 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3,786.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,743,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698,585 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,079,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 19.9% during the third 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. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $53.71 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $91.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.20, a PEG ratio of 2.80 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $52.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. On average, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid 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 dividend yield of 7.60%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.