Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA Raises Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 25,986 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up about 1.3% of Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. KPP Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,128,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 293.6% in the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,336,000 after buying an additional 41,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,011,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,727,000 after acquiring an additional 4,789 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MO. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.97. 1,887,249 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,853,371. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $47.71. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Company 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.