Raleigh Capital Management Inc. Raises Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,666 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at $41,000. Fairman Group LLC raised its position 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 last quarter. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 330.4% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $50.82 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $86.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50-day moving average is $54.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.10. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.28 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 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.