Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC Acquires 1,182 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,591 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,182 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth $27,000. BNP Paribas bought a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% in the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $36,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $49.61 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $54.95. The firm has a market cap of $85.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $51.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.79.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.22%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MO. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America reduced 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 $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.20.

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.