Wealth Effects LLC Acquires 325 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Wealth Effects LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,675 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the quarter. Wealth Effects LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 47,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,463,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 87.4% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,700,000 after purchasing an additional 24,615 shares during the period. Next Level Private LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 36,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $297,000. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 2.5 %

MO stock opened at $53.36 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.21. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.43 billion, a PE ratio of 9.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.65%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Altria Group 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.