Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 691,083 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,279 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $36,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MO. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE MO opened at $54.86 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $52.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.83. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $58.03. The company has a market capitalization of $92.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.38, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. On average, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 62.29%.

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.