Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stake Raised by King Luther Capital Management Corp

King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 32,372 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 224 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO opened at $57.83 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.65 and a fifty-two week high of $59.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $53.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.23. The firm has a market cap of $97.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. On average, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

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.