Florida Financial Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Florida Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 107,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,615,000 after buying an additional 2,960 shares in the last quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $484,000. TIAA Trust National Association grew its holdings in Altria Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 61,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,232,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 4,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $11,857,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MO. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $56.73 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.65 and a 52 week high of $59.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $54.66 and a 200-day moving average of $53.51.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.19%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

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.