Steele Capital Management Inc. Buys Shares of 5,653 Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Steele Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 5,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fernwood Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Fernwood Investment Management LLC now owns 68,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,773,000 after purchasing an additional 3,181 shares during the period. Altrius Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc now owns 86,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,494,000 after buying an additional 3,246 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 41,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,700,000 after buying an additional 4,986 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 22,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 12,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $43.92. The company had a trading volume of 3,211,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,870,279. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $48.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $42.26 and its 200-day moving average is $41.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. Altria Group’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

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.