Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,355,525 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 124,088 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $70,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at $34,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MO opened at $57.83 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $53.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.65 and a 1-year high of $59.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued 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 negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. On average, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.05%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on 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 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.