Wedbush Securities Inc. Purchases 1,254 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,113 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,888,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $963,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 90.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 112,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,746,000 after acquiring an additional 53,567 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,206,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 52.1% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 100,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,154,000 after acquiring an additional 34,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 113.2% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 81,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,140,000 after purchasing an additional 43,074 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $56.05 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.65 and a 52 week high of $60.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $55.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.80. The company has a market cap of $94.77 billion, a PE ratio of 8.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.28%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

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.