WealthTrust Axiom LLC Purchases 269 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

WealthTrust Axiom LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,903 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 351,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,367,000 after acquiring an additional 72,617 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $3,091,000. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 85,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,487,000 after buying an additional 11,214 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 363,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,010,000 after buying an additional 7,523 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elios Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $252,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:MO opened at $56.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.65 and a twelve month high of $60.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $56.22 and a 200-day moving average of $54.04.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share 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 fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.20%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.00.

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.