Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC Grows Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 45,407 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,327 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Busey Bank lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 184,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,635,000 after purchasing an additional 4,448 shares in the last quarter. Enzi Wealth lifted its position in Altria Group by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Enzi Wealth now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Cortland Associates Inc. MO lifted its position in Altria Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Cortland Associates Inc. MO now owns 18,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $944,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 8,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position in Altria Group by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 432,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,604,000 after acquiring an additional 44,907 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $52.81 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $58.03. The company’s fifty day moving average is $53.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.73%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

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.