Operose Advisors LLC Acquires 4,784 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• Operose Advisors LLC significantly increased its holdings in Altria Group, acquiring an additional 4,784 shares, which boosted its ownership by 4,124.1% during the 1st quarter, reaching a total of 4,900 shares valued at $294,000.
• Altria Group's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $1.44, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenues of $5.29 billion, representing a slight increase from the previous year.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, yielding 6.4%, with an annualized payout of $4.08, indicating a dividend payout ratio of 78.92%.

Operose Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 4,124.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,900 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,784 shares during the quarter. Operose Advisors LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in Altria Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 363,694 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,010,000 after buying an additional 7,523 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 85,803 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,487,000 after buying an additional 11,214 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,091,000. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 351,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,367,000 after buying an additional 72,617 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on MO shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $59.13.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $65.58. 10,747,081 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,150,774. The company has a market cap of $110.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.59. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $60.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.08. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.86 and a 1-year high of $66.29.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The firm's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.92%.

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.