Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,601,425 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 264,819 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $188,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 1,125 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $1,209,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $25,554,000. Orion Investment Co increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 8,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Moore & CO. lifted its position in Altria Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 19,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $999,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Trading Down 3.2 %

Altria Group stock opened at $56.05 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $94.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.65 and a 12 month high of $60.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.82.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.28%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

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.