Gotham Asset Management LLC Acquires 162,181 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 55.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 455,332 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 162,181 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $30,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 86.3% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 2,946 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 6.9% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 9,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 10.9% in the second quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% during the second quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $893,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $67.58 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.82 and a fifty-two week high of $70.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50-day moving average is $64.44 and its 200 day moving average is $62.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $1,885,743.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,221,318.33. The trade was a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.11.

Altria Group Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.