Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Ashton Thomas Securities LLC

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,305 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,679,000 after acquiring an additional 46,697 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Altria Group by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,215,000 after purchasing an additional 19,893 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,573,000 after purchasing an additional 12,011 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 706,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,084,000 after purchasing an additional 54,102 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 89,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,581,000 after buying an additional 29,421 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE MO opened at $56.73 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.65 and a 1 year high of $59.67. The company has a market cap of $95.91 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $54.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.51.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted 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 net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. Research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.19%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 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.