Jacobi Capital Management LLC Acquires 3,306 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,167 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,306 shares during the quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 47,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 2,508 shares in the last quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $225,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 71,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,758,000 after purchasing an additional 9,520 shares in the last quarter. Sage Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $208,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $2,220,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE MO opened at $55.83 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03. The stock has a market cap of $94.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $52.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.90.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. As a group, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.31%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on MO. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Company 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.