Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stake Raised by TFB Advisors LLC

TFB Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,576 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. TFB Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:MO opened at $53.90 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.57%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.