RFG Advisory LLC Raises Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

RFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 101.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,088 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,630 shares during the quarter. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,127,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,972 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,938,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,193,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134,748 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Altria Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 22,273,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,164,681,000 after acquiring an additional 76,004 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $859,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,801,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $617,124,000 after acquiring an additional 983,328 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of MO opened at $59.31 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.83 and a fifty-two week high of $61.26. The firm has a market cap of $99.90 billion, a PE ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $58.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.97.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.88%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

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.