Kwmg LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Kwmg LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO – Get Rating) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,479 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,111 shares during the quarter. Kwmg LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter valued at $25,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 199.7% during the 2nd quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares during the period. Finally, Almanack Investment Partners LLC. purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.68% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $45.32 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $46.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.32. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.35 and a 52 week high of $57.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.92 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18. Altria Group had a net margin of 22.97% and a negative return on equity of 284.29%. The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 24th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 23rd. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.30%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.50 to $49.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.13.

Altria Group Company Profile

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Altria Group, Inc operates as a holding company, which engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United States. It operates through the following segments: Smokeable Products, Oral tobacco products, and Wine. The Smokeable Products segment consists of cigarettes manufactured and sold by PM USA and machine-made large cigars and pipe tobacco manufactured and sold by Middleton.