Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 1,280 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 29,991 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares during the quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $55.06 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.85. The firm has a market cap of $93.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.41, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.