Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 5,416 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 38.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,420 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,416 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Fairman Group LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.6 %

Altria Group stock opened at $51.04 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $54.44 and a 200-day moving average of $51.92. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $58.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.50 billion, a PE ratio of 8.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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 report on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.33.

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.