Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. Buys 1,704 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 32.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,025 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,704 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MO. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO opened at $56.45 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.00. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $40.65 and a one year high of $60.18. The firm has a market cap of $95.44 billion, a PE ratio of 8.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its 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 negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 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.