Artemis Investment Management LLP Raises Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 274,287 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,376 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP's holdings in Altria Group were worth $14,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,060,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 2.9% during the second quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company's stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company's stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of MO stock traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $51.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,528,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,772,463. The company has a 50 day moving average of $54.29 and a 200 day moving average of $52.03. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03. The stock has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. The business's revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group's payout ratio is 68.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MO. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.43.

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.