Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Advisors Capital Management LLC

Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 26.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 351,259 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 72,617 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $18,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company's stock worth $107,679,000 after purchasing an additional 46,697 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Altria Group by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,215,000 after buying an additional 19,893 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company's stock worth $12,573,000 after buying an additional 12,011 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 48.8% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 89,761 shares of the company's stock worth $4,581,000 after acquiring an additional 29,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 54,684 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,859,000 after acquiring an additional 12,320 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of MO traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.57. The company had a trading volume of 6,382,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,005,965. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.72 and a 1-year high of $60.18. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $56.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.10. The stock 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.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.09%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

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.