Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires New Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 170,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,892,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MO. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $58.97 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.65 and a 52 week high of $59.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 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, equities 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 will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.92%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 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.