Fisher Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 24.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,111 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,111 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 103.2% in the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1,800.0% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MO. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $44.29 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $42.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.50. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $46.67. The company has a market cap of $76.07 billion, a PE ratio of 9.27, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.85%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.01%.

Altria Group declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.