Precedent Wealth Partners LLC Buys New Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Precedent Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 23,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,189,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter worth $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 63.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.20.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $49.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $85.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50-day moving average is $51.54 and its 200 day moving average is $47.75. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

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.