Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 181,325 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,958 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $9,481,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MO. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth $34,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $41,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upgraded shares of 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 note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $54.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $58.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $52.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

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.