Anchor Investment Management LLC Has $672,000 Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,174 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,478 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MO. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 63.9% in the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE MO opened at $55.01 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03. The company has a market cap of $93.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.63. The business’s fifty day moving average is $53.41 and its 200 day moving average is $50.71.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.33.

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.