RIA Advisory Group LLC Purchases Shares of 12,840 Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $655,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northcape Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 29.5% during the third quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,608 shares of the company’s stock valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 2,187 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 3.8% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 54,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,796,000 after acquiring an additional 2,003 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 83,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,271,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at about $205,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Altria Group by 7.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 292,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,928,000 after buying an additional 19,291 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.33.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.0 %

MO stock opened at $55.93 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.22. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $56.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.79 billion, a PE ratio of 9.45, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.29%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.