Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by CMG Global Holdings LLC

CMG Global Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,349 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the quarter. CMG Global Holdings LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 195.8% in the 4th quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $790,000 after purchasing an additional 10,003 shares in the last quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 41,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,162,000 after buying an additional 1,181 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 337,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,515,000 after buying an additional 52,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $127,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MO. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $51.59 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.29. The stock has a market cap of $87.44 billion, a PE ratio of 8.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.91%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

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.