Groupama Asset Managment Buys 704 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 59,708 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $58.96 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $60.18. The company has a market capitalization of $99.68 billion, a PE ratio of 9.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $55.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.69.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.92%. Altria Group’s payout ratio 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.