Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by Redwood Investment Management LLC

Redwood Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 70.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 66,276 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,480 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $56.50 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $58.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.35. The stock has a market cap of $95.17 billion, a PE ratio of 8.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.83 and a 1 year high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.22%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

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.