Baugh & Associates LLC Has $4.43 Million Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Baugh & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 89,552 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 484 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up approximately 2.3% of Baugh & Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Baugh & Associates LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 63.9% during the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 33.4% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:MO opened at $54.28 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $51.49 and its 200-day moving average is $48.70. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $55.05. The stock has a market cap of $91.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors 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 boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.52%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.33.

Altria Group 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.