ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Increases Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,836 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,679,000 after purchasing an additional 46,697 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,603,000 after buying an additional 40,574 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,215,000 after buying an additional 19,893 shares during the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,476,000 after buying an additional 10,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,330,000 after buying an additional 32,318 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $51.47 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $54.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.07. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.69, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.93%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on MO shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

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.