Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Has $1.34 Million Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 25,568 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 748 shares during the quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 24.9% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 62,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,183,000 after purchasing an additional 12,444 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Altria Group by 1,035.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 2,351 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 71.0% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 16,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $849,000 after buying an additional 6,907 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 74,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,807,000 after acquiring an additional 12,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 7.7% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 635,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,450,000 after acquiring an additional 45,407 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $58.32 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $98.60 billion, a PE ratio of 8.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $54.94 and a 200-day moving average of $53.57. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.65 and a 52-week high of $59.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.00%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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 upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

About Altria Group

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.