Wagner Wealth Management LLC Grows Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Wagner Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,834 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,472 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $776,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its stake in Altria Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% in the third quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% in the third quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $52.65 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $53.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03. The stock has a market cap of $89.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.04, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MO. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.