Victory Capital Management Inc. Purchases 93,121 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,488,007 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 93,121 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Altria Group worth $234,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded down $0.35 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $55.95. 7,409,587 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,879,282. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.65 and a 1 year high of $58.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.54, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.01.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released 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 negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. On average, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $53.29.

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.