Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 24.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,674,441 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 915,478 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $188,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Vicus Capital increased its stake in Altria Group by 34.8% in the third quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 6,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 3.4% in the third quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 31,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $288,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Altria Group by 8.8% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 431,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,159,000 after purchasing an additional 34,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 5.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,198,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,389,000 after acquiring an additional 57,733 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $43.82 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $47.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.39 and a 200-day moving average of $41.49. The company has a market capitalization of $75.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.17, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th were given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.