Ameriprise Financial Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,969,346 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 96,201 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.45% of Altria Group worth $350,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Chelsea Counsel Co. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 30,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 2,220 shares in the last quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $893,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 40,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,795,000 after purchasing an additional 2,171 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 6.3% in the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 226,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,110,000 after buying an additional 13,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 249,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,150,000 after purchasing an additional 9,820 shares during the last quarter. 58.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on MO shares. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Altria Group from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.50.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $44.10 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.35 and a 1 year high of $51.57. The stock has a market cap of $78.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $44.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.09.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.31. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 225.61% and a net margin of 27.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.89%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 102.89%.

Altria Group Profile

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; cigars and pipe tobacco principally under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco products and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; and on! oral nicotine pouches.