MSH Capital Advisors LLC Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

MSH Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 9,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $502,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,127,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,972 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 86.0% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,675,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,894,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236,782 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 136.4% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,022,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,938,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,193,687,000 after buying an additional 1,134,748 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.4 %

Altria Group stock opened at $57.29 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.74 and a twelve month high of $60.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.15. The firm has a market cap of $96.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 7.12%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.00.

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.