Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by Foundations Investment Advisors LLC

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 258,610 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,434 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $13,523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Altria Group by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,821,831,000 after buying an additional 3,910,738 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 729.8% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,511,000 after buying an additional 1,731,932 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 3,786.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,743,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,985,000 after buying an additional 1,698,585 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,919,000 after buying an additional 1,003,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in Altria Group by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,034,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,916,000 after buying an additional 670,858 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $52.84 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03. The company has a market cap of $89.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $53.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.21.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.72%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on 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 started coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.43.

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.