Mariner LLC Acquires 118,072 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Mariner LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 651,174 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 118,072 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $34,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Altria Group Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:MO opened at $57.57 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.72 and a twelve month high of $60.18. The company has a market cap of $97.33 billion, a PE ratio of 8.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50 day moving average is $56.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.13.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

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.