Wealthstar Advisors LLC Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Wealthstar Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 11,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $603,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 6,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 6.5% in the third quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 7.4% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 9,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth $661,000. Finally, Orca Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Orca Investment Management LLC now owns 10,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $52.65 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $53.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $58.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.04, a PEG 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.75%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MO. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

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.