Jones Financial Companies Lllp Purchases 82,313 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 72.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 195,260 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 82,313 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $10,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $57.33 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $96.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.75, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $52.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.96.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.