Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Buys 2,329 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 54.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,630 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,329 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE MO opened at $55.15 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $52.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.78. 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 $93.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.40%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

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.