Shilanski & Associates Inc. Raises Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Shilanski & Associates Inc. raised its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 108,228 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,473 shares during the period. Altria Group accounts for approximately 1.8% of Shilanski & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Shilanski & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 46,697 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 15.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,603,000 after purchasing an additional 40,574 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in Altria Group by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,215,000 after purchasing an additional 19,893 shares in the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% during the second quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,476,000 after buying an additional 10,079 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,330,000 after acquiring an additional 32,318 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $51.17 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s fifty day moving average is $54.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.10.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

About Altria Group

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.