Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stock Position Lifted by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,681,943 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 617,900 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $188,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MO. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 8.8% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 431,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,159,000 after buying an additional 34,786 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 55,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,321,000 after purchasing an additional 3,873 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 36,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,517,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 32.6% during the third quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 17,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 4,339 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of MO traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,228,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,736,930. The company has a market cap of $74.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.50 and a 200 day moving average of $41.51. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $46.86.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.99%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

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.