Lantz Financial LLC Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Lantz Financial LLC bought a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 18,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,203,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 62.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 16,395,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $954,446,000 after purchasing an additional 6,302,819 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth approximately $126,471,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 1.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,364,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599,923 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Altria Group by 1,094.0% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,158,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 72,367,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,315,438,000 after buying an additional 886,583 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.0%

MO stock opened at $65.42 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $59.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.97. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.40 and a 12 month high of $68.60. The company has a market capitalization of $109.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th were given a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 103.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.56.

About Altria Group

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.