Apollon Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 14.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,164 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,307 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 14.5% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 12,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $628,000 after acquiring an additional 1,588 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 14,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $753,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.7% during the third quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at about $350,000. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.3% in the third quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 6,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.0 %

Altria Group stock opened at $52.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.44.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.75%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price 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. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.