NewEdge Wealth LLC Raises Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 48,515 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,221 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,821,831,000 after acquiring an additional 3,910,738 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,508,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,935,224,000 after acquiring an additional 589,832 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,803,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,079,919,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,605 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,232,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,310,000 after acquiring an additional 197,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,414,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,563,000 after acquiring an additional 39,341 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $55.83 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03. The company has a market capitalization of $94.61 billion, a PE ratio of 8.52, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $52.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.89.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MO. Barclays lifted their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.