AdvisorShares Investments LLC Grows Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,500 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lido Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 776,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,391,000 after buying an additional 9,388 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $859,257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444,021 shares in the last quarter. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berger Financial Group Inc boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 7,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $58.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $98.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $57.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.37 and a twelve month high of $60.18.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, research analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.00.

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.