Claro Advisors LLC Acquires 1,979 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Claro Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,055 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,979 shares during the quarter. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $462,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 66.2% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 46,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,021,000 after purchasing an additional 18,450 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 45.5% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 65,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,854,000 after buying an additional 20,438 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 61.9% during the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 9,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 3,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, InterOcean Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 34.1% in the first quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC now owns 29,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,277,000 after acquiring an additional 7,441 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $56.34 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $51.63 and its 200 day moving average is $49.38. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $56.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. Altria Group’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.24%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.33.

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.