Axis Wealth Partners LLC Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Axis Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 11,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $593,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% in the third quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE MO opened at $57.79 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $58.59. The stock has a market cap of $97.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.10.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.06%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MO. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America upgraded 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.