Larson Financial Group LLC Raises Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,082 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,155,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,127,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,972 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,079,919,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,605 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,488,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,678,000 after acquiring an additional 93,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,232,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,310,000 after acquiring an additional 197,945 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $57.79 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $53.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.10. The company has a market capitalization of $97.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.82, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $58.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

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.