Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MOFree Report) by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,764 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,239 shares during the period. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% during the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Fairman Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% during the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $54.18 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $51.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $54.95. The company has a market cap of $92.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.15, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MOGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.53%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MO. Citigroup raised their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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 Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.33.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Altria Group

Altria Group Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Altria Group (NYSE:MO)

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