Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 910 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,674 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the period. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% during the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE MO opened at $52.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $89.11 billion, a PE ratio of 8.03, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $53.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.42. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MO shares. Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

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.