Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by Burney Co.

Burney Co. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,515 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the quarter. Burney Co.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 163.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 50,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,317,000 after purchasing an additional 31,568 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 387.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 350,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,956,000 after purchasing an additional 278,500 shares during the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT raised its stake in Altria Group by 5.5% during the second quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 25,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 9,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 189,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,620,000 after buying an additional 26,597 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $51.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $54.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.91.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its 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. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid 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 dividend yield of 7.86%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upgraded 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 research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Altria Group in a report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Company 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.