Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $61.47 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,523,667 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 333,656 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.09% of Altria Group worth $61,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 21,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $987,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Corrigan Financial Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Corrigan Financial Inc. now owns 5,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Day & Ennis LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Day & Ennis LLC now owns 5,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $41.68 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $41.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.46. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $48.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.59 billion, a PE ratio of 9.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.40%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.78%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MO. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

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.