Xcel Wealth Management LLC Makes New $233,000 Investment in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Xcel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MO. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% during 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 during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.6 %

MO stock traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $49.84. 2,580,047 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,900,597. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $54.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $51.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.19%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 85.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.20.

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.