Samalin Investment Counsel LLC Acquires 303 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Samalin Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,270 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the period. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $746,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 115.5% during the 4th quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC now owns 13,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $686,000 after acquiring an additional 7,030 shares during the period. Mosley Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Mosley Wealth Management now owns 12,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $662,000 after acquiring an additional 892 shares during the period. Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $489,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,361,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,205,000 after acquiring an additional 95,391 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.1 %

MO opened at $57.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.14 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.65 and a 1-year high of $59.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $54.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. On average, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.