Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 263,241 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 11,756 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $13,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company's stock worth $3,821,831,000 after acquiring an additional 3,910,738 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company's stock worth $3,127,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,972 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company's stock worth $2,079,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,206,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MO. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE MO traded up $0.69 on Thursday, hitting $58.50. 8,908,145 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,303,226. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $53.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.90 billion, a PE ratio of 8.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.65 and a 1-year high of $59.67.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's 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.