Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Acquires 12,459 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 88.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 26,534 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,459 shares during the quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Altria Group by 1.2% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 62.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $954,446,000 after buying an additional 6,302,819 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Altria Group by 1.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,747,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $842,122,000 after buying an additional 132,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Altria Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,131,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $801,412,000 after buying an additional 47,757 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MO shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.11.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $1,885,743.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,221,318.33. The trade was a 13.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $67.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $113.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.82 and a fifty-two week high of $70.51.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.