Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC Buys 6,484 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 67,331 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,484 shares during the quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,521,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp raised its holdings in Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.7 %

MO opened at $58.97 on Friday. The stock 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.65 and a 1 year high of $59.67. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.31.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

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.