Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stake Boosted by Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC

Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,164 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,323 shares during the quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter worth $200,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 37,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,934,000 after buying an additional 825 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Altria Group by 4.7% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 531,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,128,000 after buying an additional 24,039 shares during the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1.1% in the third quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 18,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $942,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lynch & Associates IN lifted its stake in Altria Group by 3.0% in the third quarter. Lynch & Associates IN now owns 29,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,506,000 after buying an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $53.35 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.54. The stock has a market cap of $90.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side 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 announced 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. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio 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.