HBW Advisory Services LLC Increases Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

HBW Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,504 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,059 shares during the period. HBW Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MO. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO traded down $0.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $50.74. The stock had a trading volume of 6,927,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,997,417. The stock has a market cap of $85.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.57, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $58.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $54.62 and a 200-day moving average of $51.73.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.04%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.92%.

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.