Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,955 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. May Barnhard Investments LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $293,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $180,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 7,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the period. Impact Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $503,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 61.5% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 2,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:MO opened at $58.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $98.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $53.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.27. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.65 and a twelve month high of $59.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.97%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.