Financial Security Advisor Inc. Has $4.79 Million Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Financial Security Advisor Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 91,907 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,179 shares during the quarter. Altria Group comprises 1.2% of Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 63.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 33.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on MO shares. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America lowered their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.17.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $54.18 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $54.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.44 billion, a PE ratio of 9.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50-day moving average is $51.47 and its 200 day moving average is $48.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.53%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

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.