4,330 Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Acquired by Northeast Investment Management

Northeast Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 4,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 63.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Altria Group by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $53.88 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $54.95. The company has a market cap of $91.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.57.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.57%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup increased their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.17.

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.