Smith Moore & CO. Has $999,000 Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

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

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Altria Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Altria Group Trading Down 3.2 %

NYSE MO opened at $56.05 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.65 and a 12 month high of $60.18. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.78. The company has a market capitalization of $94.77 billion, a PE ratio of 8.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.28%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

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.