Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC Has $256,000 Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 29.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,185 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,421 shares during the quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $256,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $43.59 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $46.86.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The company 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 posted $1.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently 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.