95,000 Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Acquired by Premier Fund Managers Ltd

Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 95,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,948,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 462 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $58.32 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $54.94 and its 200 day moving average is $53.57. The firm has a market cap of $98.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.90, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.65 and a 52-week high of $59.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.00%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MO. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two investment 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 data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

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.