Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by Confluence Wealth Services Inc.

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,196 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Altria Group by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,472,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,103,000 after purchasing an additional 247,592 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 58,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,075,000 after acquiring an additional 1,244 shares in the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $544,000. James J. Burns & Company LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $936,000. Finally, Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO opened at $52.66 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $58.03. The stock has a market cap of $89.25 billion, a PE ratio of 8.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $53.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.42.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.