Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 56,219 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,613 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. RFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 11,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 666.7% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $213,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of MO traded up $0.36 on Tuesday, reaching $42.93. 7,787,445 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,798,188. The stock has a market cap of $73.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.38, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.43. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $48.04.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The business had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same period last 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 forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.78%.

Altria Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Company 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.