Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Holdings Lifted by Atomi Financial Group Inc.

Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 51.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,551 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,985 shares during the quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $918,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MO. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Fairman Group LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 85.1% in the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 330.4% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $50.82 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $58.03. The company has a market cap of $86.14 billion, a PE ratio of 8.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.11.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. Altria Group’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.03%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 68.92%.

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.