Choreo LLC Has $1.70 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Choreo LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,136 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,986 shares during the quarter. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in Altria Group by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 91,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,881,000 after buying an additional 4,090 shares during the period. Vicus Capital increased its position in Altria Group by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 6,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 1,786 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 31,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,319,000 after buying an additional 1,026 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 601,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,287,000 after buying an additional 6,429 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth $288,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $43.81 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $48.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $42.33 and its 200 day moving average is $41.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.17, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

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.