Asset Planning Inc Acquires Shares of 50,782 Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 50,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,655,000. Altria Group accounts for about 2.0% of Asset Planning Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of 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. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 729.8% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,511,000 after buying an additional 1,731,932 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 3,786.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,743,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,985,000 after buying an additional 1,698,585 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 worth $2,079,919,000 after buying an additional 1,003,605 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,034,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,916,000 after buying an additional 670,858 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Altria Group stock opened at $53.71 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $52.90 and a 200 day moving average of $52.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.60%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

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.