Smith Moore & CO. Raises Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Smith Moore & CO. increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,103 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Enterprise Financial Services Corp increased its stake in Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $681,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Altria Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MO shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $56.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $94.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56, a PEG 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 $60.18. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.78.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.28%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

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.