Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Has $6.62 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 126,639 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,617 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake 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 acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Bank of America upgraded 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 report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $58.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $98.35 billion, a PE ratio of 8.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.65 and a 52-week high of $59.67. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $55.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.01%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Altria Group 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.