Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. Has $488,000 Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,329 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 248,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,013,000 after acquiring an additional 6,193 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. increased its position in Altria Group by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Burney Co. now owns 9,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 10,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 2,752 shares in the last quarter. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $288,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. 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. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $51.04 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $54.44 and its 200-day moving average is $51.92. The company has a market cap of $86.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.99%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 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.