Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 367,469 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,893 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $19,215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Graypoint LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 14,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158 shares during the period. Lynch & Associates IN lifted its stake in Altria Group by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Lynch & Associates IN now owns 31,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,643,000 after acquiring an additional 1,914 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 8,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 60,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Capital Advisors llc increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 116,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,074,000 after acquiring an additional 1,989 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $50.84 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.16 billion, a PE ratio of 8.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.84.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.33.

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.