Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC Has $11.68 Million Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 202,586 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,645 shares during the quarter. Altria Group makes up about 1.8% of Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $11,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MO. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Altria Group by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,315,438,000 after purchasing an additional 886,583 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 19.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 19,567,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,285,575,000 after purchasing an additional 3,172,753 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,705,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,103,543,000 after purchasing an additional 59,189 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,747,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $842,122,000 after purchasing an additional 132,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 12,131,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $801,412,000 after buying an additional 47,757 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Altria Group news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $1,885,743.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,221,318.33. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.0%

Altria Group stock opened at $65.73 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.50. The stock has a market cap of $109.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.41. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.82 and a 12-month high of $70.51.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.16%.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.