LPL Financial LLC Grows Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,128,789 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 331,747 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $163,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $57.62 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $54.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.48. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.65 and a 52-week high of $59.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.80, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.08%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.