Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 289,820 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,210 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $15,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Fairman Group LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of MO opened at $52.20 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $88.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s fifty day moving average is $53.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.35. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted 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 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.82%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup raised their price target 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

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.