HBW Advisory Services LLC Has $3.16 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

HBW Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,504 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sage Capital Advisors llc lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 116,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,074,000 after acquiring an additional 1,989 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 26,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,373,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 4,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 19,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $247,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays raised 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $50.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,927,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,997,417. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.73. The company has a market cap of $85.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.04%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Altria Group 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.