Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. Has $1.20 Million Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 64.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,847 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,930 shares during the quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $55.06 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $58.03.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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

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.