Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,489 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 620 shares during the quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the third quarter worth $34,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted 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. 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 research note on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $55.01 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $52.61 and its 200 day moving average is $52.70. The firm has a market cap of $93.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.40, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $58.03.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.