Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 83,897 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MO. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 531,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,128,000 after purchasing an additional 24,039 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in Altria Group by 4.9% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 67,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,420,000 after acquiring an additional 3,129 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 9,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 222,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,378,000 after acquiring an additional 3,663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 16,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $840,000 after acquiring an additional 4,238 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.5 %

Altria Group stock opened at $53.37 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $52.75 and a 200-day moving average of $52.57. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $58.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 7.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

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.