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

Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 13,778 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 203 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Altria Group by 136.4% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,022,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,737,000 after buying an additional 1,166,701 shares during the period. Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Altria Group by 781.3% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 22,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 20,142 shares in the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 66,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,458,000 after acquiring an additional 2,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $58.09 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $40.65 and a one year high of $59.67. The company has a market cap of $98.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.02%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two 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, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.