Mariner LLC Boosts Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Mariner LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 22.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 651,174 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 118,072 shares during the period. Mariner LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $34,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $2,041,000. Wealthquest Corp purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $209,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 20,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 35.9% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 13,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 3,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 0.9% in the third quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 82,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,208,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $57.57 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.72 and a fifty-two week high of $60.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.79, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $56.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.13.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.09%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

About Altria Group

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.