Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 2.9% during the second quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its stake in Altria Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP grew its stake in Altria Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two 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 data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.33.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.9 %

MO stock opened at $51.32 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $54.44 and its 200-day moving average is $51.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.98 billion, a PE ratio of 8.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.95%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.92%.

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.