Allen Capital Group LLC Grows Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Allen Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,167 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $427,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in 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 last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Fairman Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 921 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of MO opened at $52.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.92, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.29. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.73%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

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.