Slagle Financial LLC Buys 5,104 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Slagle Financial LLC increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,330 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,104 shares during the quarter. Altria Group comprises about 1.7% of Slagle Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Slagle Financial LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 24.9% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 62,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,183,000 after buying an additional 12,444 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 1,035.7% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,351 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 71.0% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 16,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $849,000 after purchasing an additional 6,907 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 20.6% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 74,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,807,000 after purchasing an additional 12,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Altria Group by 7.7% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 635,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,450,000 after purchasing an additional 45,407 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $58.32 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $54.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.57. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.65 and a fifty-two week high of $59.67. The company has a market capitalization of $98.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.90, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

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.