Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Perennial Investment Advisors LLC

Perennial Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 19.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,840 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,125 shares during the quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $56.05 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day moving average of $55.72 and a 200 day moving average of $53.82. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.65 and a 12 month high of $60.18.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

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.