Moors & Cabot Inc. Grows Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,907 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MO. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 2,347 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 84,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,331,000 after acquiring an additional 5,318 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 49,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,184 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 26,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 5,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $57.83 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $53.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.23. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.65 and a 1 year high of $59.67. The stock has a market cap 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 (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.