Altria Group, Inc. $MO Stake Lifted by Savvy Advisors Inc.

Savvy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 72.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,822 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,330 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,102,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 62.5% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $954,446,000 after acquiring an additional 6,302,819 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $126,471,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,364,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,923 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1,094.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,158,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,413 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,315,438,000 after buying an additional 886,583 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MO. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group raised their price target on Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.67.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $66.98 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.40 and a 1 year high of $68.60. The firm has a market cap of $112.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $60.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.12.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.16%.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.