1,350 Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Bought by Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc.

Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MO. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,060,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its position in Altria Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP boosted its position in Altria Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company 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 assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO opened at $53.84 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.49. The company has a market capitalization of $91.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results 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 anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.58%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

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.