Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 15.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 72,499 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,456 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Fairman Group LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised 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. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $51.14 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.91. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.67 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

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.