Stonegate Investment Group LLC Raises Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 47,104 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 209 shares during the quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 87.4% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,700,000 after purchasing an additional 24,615 shares during the period. Next Level Private LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 36,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the period. MBE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $297,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, IRON Financial LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 14,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $764,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $53.36 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $58.03. The stock has a market cap of $90.43 billion, a PE ratio of 9.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.21.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.65%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 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.