EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 463 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,679,000 after purchasing an additional 46,697 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Altria Group by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,215,000 after purchasing an additional 19,893 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,573,000 after purchasing an additional 12,011 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,508,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,935,224,000 after acquiring an additional 589,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Altria Group by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 706,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,084,000 after acquiring an additional 54,102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of MO opened at $58.97 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.65 and a 12 month high of $59.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $53.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.31. The firm has a market cap of $99.70 billion, a PE ratio of 9.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.92%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

About Altria Group

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.