EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. Has $2.50 Million Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,879 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 935 shares during the quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,679,000 after buying an additional 46,697 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,215,000 after acquiring an additional 19,893 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,573,000 after acquiring an additional 12,011 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,508,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,935,224,000 after purchasing an additional 589,832 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 729.8% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731,932 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE MO opened at $57.13 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $96.59 billion, a PE ratio of 8.72, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.65 and a 12 month high of $58.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $53.04 and a 200-day moving average of $53.04.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.14%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

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.