Cortland Associates Inc. MO Boosts Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Cortland Associates Inc. MO grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,046 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the quarter. Cortland Associates Inc. MO’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Fairman Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $52.81 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $53.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.29. The company has a market cap of $89.50 billion, a PE ratio of 8.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.43.

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.