Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Duality Advisers LP

Duality Advisers LP grew its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 19.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,192 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,395 shares during the quarter. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,097,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% during the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $42.87 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.44. The stock has a market cap of $73.63 billion, a PE ratio of 9.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $48.04.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.14%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 85.78%.

Altria Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.