Advisors Capital Management LLC Buys 72,617 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 26.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 351,259 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 72,617 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $18,367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,091,000. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 85,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,487,000 after purchasing an additional 11,214 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Altria Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 363,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,010,000 after purchasing an additional 7,523 shares in the last quarter. Elios Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $252,000. Finally, Heritage Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $6,418,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:MO opened at $56.68 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $60.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $56.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.20%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.