BostonPremier Wealth LLC Invests $204,000 in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

BostonPremier Wealth LLC bought a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 3,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 26,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after buying an additional 2,405 shares in the last quarter. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp now owns 27,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,420,000 after buying an additional 2,249 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $71,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of MO opened at $53.84 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $53.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.49. The firm has a market cap of $91.24 billion, a PE ratio of 8.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders 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 7.58%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

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.