LPL Financial LLC Boosts Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,128,789 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 331,747 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.18% of Altria Group worth $163,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Enterprise Financial Services Corp boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.0 %

Altria Group stock opened at $57.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $97.41 billion, a PE ratio of 8.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.48. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.65 and a 52 week high of $59.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

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.