Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stock Position Increased by Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC

Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,337 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,367 shares during the quarter. Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,481,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,821,831,000 after acquiring an additional 3,910,738 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 589,832 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $2,079,919,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003,605 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,034,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,916,000 after purchasing an additional 670,858 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,051,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,786,000 after purchasing an additional 35,953 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.7 %

Altria Group stock opened at $52.54 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03. The stock has a market cap of $89.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.26.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.77%. 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

MO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.43.

Altria Group 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.