Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV Acquires 1,200 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,386 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,456,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,857,271,000 after acquiring an additional 840,559 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 35,856,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,596,257,000 after purchasing an additional 671,929 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Altria Group by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,517,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $990,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192,266 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 108,222.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,590,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $849,763,000 after purchasing an additional 18,573,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in Altria Group by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 17,105,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $781,883,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531,337 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE MO traded up $0.18 on Thursday, hitting $41.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,166,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,550,090. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $48.04. The company’s 50-day moving average is $41.84 and its 200 day moving average is $41.43. The firm has a market cap of $70.90 billion, a PE ratio of 9.02, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The company had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MO. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

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.