NorthStar Asset Management LLC NJ Increases Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

NorthStar Asset Management LLC NJ boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,611 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the quarter. NorthStar Asset Management LLC NJ’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,679,000 after acquiring an additional 46,697 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,603,000 after buying an additional 40,574 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,215,000 after buying an additional 19,893 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,573,000 after buying an additional 12,011 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,330,000 after buying an additional 32,318 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of MO opened at $52.54 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $89.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $53.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.77%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

Altria Group 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.