MSH Capital Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

MSH Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 9,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $502,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company's stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company's stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company's stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp boosted its position in Altria Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.6 %

MO traded down $0.37 during trading on Monday, reaching $57.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,401,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,881,075. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $42.02 and a 1-year high of $60.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.30.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. On average, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.06%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

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.