Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 34.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,244 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,105 shares during the quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 32.7% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 11,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 2,851 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,603,000 after buying an additional 40,574 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 12,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $628,000 after buying an additional 1,588 shares during the last quarter. Patten Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $224,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 14,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $753,000 after buying an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $52.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $89.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $53.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.42. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $58.03.

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 net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.75%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MO. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on 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, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.