Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. Buys Shares of 4,893 Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% during the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Altria Group by 33.4% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on MO. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.17.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $53.82. The company had a trading volume of 286,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,852,436. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.57. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $54.95. The firm has a market cap of $91.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.58%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 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.