Aberdeen Group plc Raises Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Aberdeen Group plc lifted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 266,367 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,574 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $17,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Affinity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Columbia Bank grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 20.1% in the third quarter. Columbia Bank now owns 4,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $445,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 1.5% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,571,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,873,000 after purchasing an additional 37,466 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $66.74 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.30. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.46 and a 1 year high of $68.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.Altria Group’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th were issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.16%.

Altria Group announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MO. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.67.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.