Baird Financial Group Inc. Buys 60,898 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 433,519 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 60,898 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $22,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $60.51 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.03. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $43.58 and a one year high of $60.63. The firm has a market cap of $101.93 billion, a PE ratio of 9.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.74%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MO. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.00.

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.