Financial Security Advisor Inc. Acquires 4,389 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Financial Security Advisor Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,296 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,389 shares during the quarter. Altria Group comprises about 1.3% of Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp grew its stake in Altria Group by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $55.06 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.31 billion, a PE ratio of 8.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.85.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

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.