CWA Asset Management Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 240,454 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,011 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $12,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,679,000 after buying an additional 46,697 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 15.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,603,000 after buying an additional 40,574 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% in the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,476,000 after purchasing an additional 10,079 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,330,000 after purchasing an additional 32,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,508,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,935,224,000 after acquiring an additional 589,832 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:MO traded down $0.25 on Monday, reaching $52.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,273,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,075,259. The stock has a market cap of $89.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.63. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03. The company has a 50-day moving average of $54.60 and a 200 day moving average of $51.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.33.

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.