Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd Acquires New Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 40,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,083,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Fairman Group LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 330.4% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO traded down $0.39 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $51.47. 8,179,418 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,557,179. The company's fifty day moving average price is $54.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Company 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.