Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stake Lifted by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,801 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,244 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,679,000 after purchasing an additional 46,697 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 15.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,603,000 after buying an additional 40,574 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,215,000 after acquiring an additional 19,893 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,573,000 after acquiring an additional 12,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,330,000 after acquiring an additional 32,318 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MO. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $52.65 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $58.03. The company has a market capitalization of $89.24 billion, a PE ratio of 8.04, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $53.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.42.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.75%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

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.