IMS Capital Management Invests $328,000 in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

IMS Capital Management purchased a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth $34,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 63.9% in the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $54.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $53.79 and a 200-day moving average of $51.01. The firm has a market cap of $91.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.63. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.33.

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.