Stokes Family Office LLC Buys 2,948 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Stokes Family Office LLC increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 66,136 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,948 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,821,831,000 after buying an additional 3,910,738 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,127,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,972 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,079,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,605 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,488,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,678,000 after acquiring an additional 93,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,232,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,310,000 after acquiring an additional 197,945 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:MO opened at $58.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $98.59 billion, a PE ratio of 8.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $54.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.38. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $59.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 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.