Uniting Wealth Partners LLC Invests $427,000 in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Uniting Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 8,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,679,000 after purchasing an additional 46,697 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in Altria Group by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,215,000 after buying an additional 19,893 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,573,000 after acquiring an additional 12,011 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 8.3% in 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. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 89,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,581,000 after acquiring an additional 29,421 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MO. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $57.21 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $55.51 and its 200 day moving average is $53.72. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.65 and a 52 week high of $60.18. The stock has a market cap of $96.72 billion, a PE ratio of 8.73, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.13%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

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.