Hilltop Partners LLC Purchases New Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Hilltop Partners LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. abrdn plc lifted its position in Altria Group by 3.4% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 221,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,279,000 after buying an additional 7,366 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $208,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 48,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 7,262 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 54,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 87,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO opened at $55.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $93.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.41, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $52.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.85. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MO. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on 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. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays upped their price target 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. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

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.