Kovack Advisors Inc. Increases Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,706 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,861 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% in the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MO. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $43.37. 13,793,861 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,018,917. The stock has a market cap of $74.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $42.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $48.04.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. Altria Group’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 85.78%.

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.