HighTower Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,704,860 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,340 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $178,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 18.3% in the third quarter. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 1,501 shares in the last quarter. NorthStar Asset Management LLC NJ lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. NorthStar Asset Management LLC NJ now owns 12,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $846,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 266,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,530,000 after purchasing an additional 28,574 shares in the last quarter. Affinity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $212,000. Finally, Aspire Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $208,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $67.23 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.42 and its 200 day moving average is $62.19. The company has a market cap of $112.85 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.46 and a 1 year high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 103.16%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on 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 research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.67.

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.