Atomi Financial Group Inc. Has $918,000 Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 51.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 17,551 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,985 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during 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 last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Fairman Group LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 85.1% in the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 330.4% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $50.82 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.11. The company has a market cap of $86.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.58, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.43.

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.