Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Modera Wealth Management LLC

Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,248 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 50.2% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 2,892 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 31,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,652,000 after buying an additional 4,582 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $71,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 24,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,255,000 after buying an additional 3,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $642,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $57.33 on Tuesday. 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 $52.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.96. The company has a market cap of $96.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.12%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.