Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC Raises Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,603 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Yarger Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Goldstone Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in Altria Group by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 157,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,210,000 after buying an additional 7,089 shares during the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 330.4% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 88,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,614,000 after buying an additional 5,949 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Altria Group stock opened at $51.14 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $54.38 and a 200 day moving average of $51.91.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MO. 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. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.43.

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.