Horizon Wealth Management LLC Invests $211,000 in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Horizon Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,420,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.6% during the third quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 12,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.0% during the third quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 58,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,968,000 after purchasing an additional 1,667 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 67,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,420,000 after purchasing an additional 3,129 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 21,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $50.15 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $54.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $51.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.14%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective 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. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.20.

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.