Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 75,440 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,166 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,679,000 after acquiring an additional 46,697 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 15.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,603,000 after acquiring an additional 40,574 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,215,000 after purchasing an additional 19,893 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,573,000 after purchasing an additional 12,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,330,000 after purchasing an additional 32,318 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $52.54 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $89.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.87, a PEG ratio of 2.67 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. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.77%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

Altria Group 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.