Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by DGS Capital Management LLC

DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,378 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,225 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% during the 4th 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 lifted its position 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 buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target 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. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price 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 raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $52.02 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03. The company has a market capitalization of $88.17 billion, a PE ratio of 8.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.09.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 7.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Altria Group 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.