Keystone Financial Group Purchases 715 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Keystone Financial Group increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,483 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 715 shares during the period. Keystone Financial Group’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $496,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Enterprise Financial Services Corp raised its stake in Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its position in Altria Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $56.68 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $60.18. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $56.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.06. The firm has a market cap of $95.83 billion, a PE ratio of 8.65, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.