LSV Asset Management Increases Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,681,943 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 617,900 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned about 0.26% of Altria Group worth $188,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,456,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,857,271,000 after purchasing an additional 840,559 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,609,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,432,000 after buying an additional 42,490 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343,094 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,174,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,278,000 after acquiring an additional 722,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,464,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,850,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038,408 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Altria Group stock traded down $0.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,228,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,736,930. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $42.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.51. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $46.86. The firm has a market cap of $74.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.99%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MO. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

About Altria Group

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.