Wedmont Private Capital Grows Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 54.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,447 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,872 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,060,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% in the second quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP grew its stake in Altria Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.1 %

MO opened at $50.84 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $54.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.88. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03. The firm has a market cap of $86.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.33.

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.