Edmp Inc. Boosts Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Edmp Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,058 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. Altria Group comprises 4.6% of Edmp Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Edmp Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $661,000. Orca Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Orca Investment Management LLC now owns 10,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth $290,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at $200,000. Finally, CX Institutional boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 18.7% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 102,982 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,256,000 after acquiring an additional 16,247 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $53.84 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $53.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.49. The company has a market capitalization of $91.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.58%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

Altria Group 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.