AdvisorShares Investments LLC Acquires 700 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,500 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,127,218,000 after buying an additional 2,296,972 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,938,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,193,687,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134,748 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 22,273,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,164,681,000 after acquiring an additional 76,004 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $859,257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444,021 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,801,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $617,124,000 after purchasing an additional 983,328 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $58.18 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $57.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.37 and a fifty-two week high of $60.18.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.01%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.