Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Buys 1,941 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 35,425 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,941 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Delta Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 18.5% during the second quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 18,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America decreased their price objective 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.33.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $54.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $55.05. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.97.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 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.