Todd Asset Management LLC Buys 11,952 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Todd Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 735,249 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,952 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $38,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in Altria Group by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 369,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,342,000 after buying an additional 16,767 shares during the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $421,000. Horizon Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $381,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 20,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,097,000 after buying an additional 1,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Altria Group by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 32,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,711,000 after buying an additional 2,823 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $55.15 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03. The company has a market cap of $93.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $52.62 and its 200 day moving average is $52.78.

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 negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.40%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on MO shares. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

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.