Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. Has $1.19 Million Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 107.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,800 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,820 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the period. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 221,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,574,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the period. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 270,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,144,000 after acquiring an additional 6,462 shares in the last quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 12,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $669,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $52.65 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $53.09 and a 200-day moving average of $52.44. The company has a market capitalization of $89.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. Equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MO. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective 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. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

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.