MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. Buys New Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 10,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $538,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Altria Group by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company's stock worth $3,821,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910,738 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 729.8% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company's stock worth $100,511,000 after buying an additional 1,731,932 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 3,786.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,743,443 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,985,000 after buying an additional 1,698,585 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,079,919,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in Altria Group by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,034,414 shares of the company's stock worth $205,916,000 after acquiring an additional 670,858 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO traded up $0.62 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $53.37. The company had a trading volume of 6,735,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,289,180. The company has a market cap of $90.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03. The business's fifty day moving average price is $52.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.65.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.65%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

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.