PKS Advisory Services LLC Buys New Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

PKS Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 9,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $484,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TIAA Trust National Association raised its stake in Altria Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 61,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,232,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 4,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $11,857,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $792,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,317,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096,205 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on MO shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $56.73 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.65 and a 52 week high of $59.67. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.51. The company has a market capitalization of $95.91 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results 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, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.19%. 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.