Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by RKL Wealth Management LLC

RKL Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1,179.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,437 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,418 shares during the quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 210.1% in the fourth quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 35,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,877,000 after buying an additional 68,520 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 55,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,900,000 after buying an additional 3,614 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 25,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,345,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. now owns 47,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,504,000 after buying an additional 935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Novus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $219,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of MO opened at $57.79 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $53.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.09. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.65 and a twelve month high of $58.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its 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 net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.06%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.