Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,955 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock opened at $58.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $98.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $53.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.27. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.65 and a 12 month high of $59.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.97%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

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.