Catalyst Financial Partners LLC Acquires 244 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,484 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $600,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,821,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910,738 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,508,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,935,224,000 after buying an additional 589,832 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 2.5% during the third 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 during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 19.9% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,034,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,916,000 after acquiring an additional 670,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,414,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,563,000 after acquiring an additional 39,341 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:MO opened at $53.71 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $91.04 billion, a PE ratio of 8.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 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%. Research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.60%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of 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. Barclays upped 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.