GWN Securities Inc. Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

GWN Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 29,096 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,516,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,679,000 after acquiring an additional 46,697 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,215,000 after purchasing an additional 19,893 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,573,000 after purchasing an additional 12,011 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,508,314 shares of the company's stock worth $2,935,224,000 after purchasing an additional 589,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 8.3% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 706,967 shares of the company's stock worth $36,084,000 after purchasing an additional 54,102 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE MO traded up $0.14 on Thursday, hitting $58.09. 7,207,280 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,586,335. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $54.16 and a 200-day moving average of $53.42. The stock has a market cap of $98.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.65 and a 52 week high of $59.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.02%. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

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.