Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stock Position Raised by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 147,109 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 15,411 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MO. UBS Group upped their target price 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.00.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.6%

MO stock traded up $0.38 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.85. The stock had a trading volume of 5,819,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,729,686. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $43.83 and a 1-year high of $61.26. The company has a market capitalization of $100.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.14, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $58.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.55.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

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.