Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by NEOS Investment Management LLC

NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 31.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,383 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 26,033 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,619,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,708,000 after buying an additional 66,197 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,683,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,590,000 after acquiring an additional 177,051 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP raised its position in Altria Group by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 806,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,168,000 after acquiring an additional 68,581 shares in the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 78,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,130,000 after acquiring an additional 6,282 shares during the period. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 37,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,958,000 after purchasing an additional 3,321 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.0 %

MO opened at $58.32 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.65 and a twelve month high of $59.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.60 billion, a PE ratio of 8.90, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $54.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.57.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of several recent 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 for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group 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.