Peak Retirement Planning Inc. Acquires New Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Peak Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 15,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $818,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,127,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,972 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $91,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock worth $859,257,000 after buying an additional 1,444,021 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,927,340 shares of the company's stock worth $466,811,000 after buying an additional 1,323,421 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.7%

Altria Group stock traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $59.74. The company had a trading volume of 4,860,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,682,214. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.83 and a 1 year high of $61.26. The business has a fifty day moving average of $58.13 and a 200 day moving average of $55.71. The stock has a market cap of $100.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. The company's revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.83%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

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.