Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by Financial Sense Advisors Inc.

Financial Sense Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 51.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 91,624 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,146 shares during the quarter. Altria Group comprises about 1.6% of Financial Sense Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Financial Sense Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,791,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position 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. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the third quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $53.37 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $90.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $52.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.65%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.29%.

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.