Canal Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Canal Capital Management LLC increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 285,368 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the quarter. Altria Group comprises about 2.4% of Canal Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Canal Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $14,922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $681,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp lifted its position in Altria Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $58.13 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.30. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $42.02 and a 52 week high of $60.18. The company has a market cap of $98.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors 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 yield of 7.02%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.