Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC

Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3,091.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 227,914 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 220,773 shares during the quarter. Altria Group makes up approximately 1.4% of Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $11,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at about $543,000. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 42,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,844,000 after acquiring an additional 2,150 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 170.4% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 101,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,409,000 after acquiring an additional 63,701 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in Altria Group by 17.6% during the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 40,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 6,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 8.4% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 207,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,034,000 after purchasing an additional 16,008 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.33.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock traded up $0.30 on Friday, reaching $53.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 452,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,814,505. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $51.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.70. The company has a market capitalization of $91.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $55.05.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.92%.

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.