Slagle Financial LLC Purchases 5,104 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Slagle Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 71,330 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,104 shares during the quarter. Altria Group comprises approximately 1.7% of Slagle Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Slagle Financial LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 2.2% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Altria Group by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,215,000 after purchasing an additional 19,893 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,573,000 after purchasing an additional 12,011 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Altria Group by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 706,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,084,000 after purchasing an additional 54,102 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Altria Group by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 89,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,581,000 after buying an additional 29,421 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.0 %

Altria Group stock opened at $58.32 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $59.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $54.94 and a 200 day moving average of $53.57.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.00%. Altria Group’s payout ratio 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.