Plan Group Financial LLC Purchases 2,213 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Plan Group Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,436 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,213 shares during the period. Plan Group Financial LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vest Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the third quarter worth $453,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 457,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,353,000 after purchasing an additional 93,654 shares during the last quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at about $292,000. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at about $261,000. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 117.5% in the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 224,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,442,000 after purchasing an additional 121,083 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of 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 Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO opened at $52.70 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $89.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.05, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $52.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.74%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

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.