Advisors Capital Management LLC Acquires 72,617 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 26.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 351,259 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 72,617 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $18,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,127,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,972 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,938,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,193,687,000 after buying an additional 1,134,748 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Altria Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 22,273,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,164,681,000 after buying an additional 76,004 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,801,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $617,124,000 after buying an additional 983,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,488,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,678,000 after acquiring an additional 93,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Altria Group stock opened at $56.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $95.83 billion, a PE ratio of 8.65, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $60.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $56.22 and its 200 day moving average is $54.04.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

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.