IFP Advisors Inc Has $1.71 Million Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,727 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,823 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. Rowlandmiller & PARTNERS.ADV now owns 2,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV now owns 19,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 3,411 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 73,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,824,000 after purchasing an additional 4,488 shares in the last quarter. Partners Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $458,000. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 87,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.3 %

MO stock opened at $55.99 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $94.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.55, a PEG ratio of 2.89 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $52.65 and a 200-day moving average of $52.82.

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 negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.29%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. 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. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

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.