BSW Wealth Partners Purchases 1,200 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

BSW Wealth Partners increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 30.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,145 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the quarter. BSW Wealth Partners’ holdings in Altria Group were worth $269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MO. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 31,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Effects LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 12,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $663,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 47,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,463,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 87.4% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,700,000 after purchasing an additional 24,615 shares during the period. Finally, Next Level Private LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 36,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,922,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MO opened at $52.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $53.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.29. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

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.