Precedent Wealth Partners LLC Has $1.20 Million Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Precedent Wealth Partners LLC lowered its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,970 shares of the company’s stock after selling 331 shares during the quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,679,000 after purchasing an additional 46,697 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 15.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,603,000 after buying an additional 40,574 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its position 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 valued at $19,215,000 after buying an additional 19,893 shares during the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,476,000 after acquiring an additional 10,079 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,573,000 after acquiring an additional 12,011 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $52.02 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.14.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.84%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

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.