Moors & Cabot Inc. Purchases 2,069 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,907 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 2,347 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 84,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,331,000 after buying an additional 5,318 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 49,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,523,000 after buying an additional 1,184 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 26,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after buying an additional 5,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 6,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MO. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of 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 boosted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given 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 $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $57.83 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $40.65 and a one year high of $59.67. The firm has a market cap of $97.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.23.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.05%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.