Western Pacific Wealth Management LP Buys Shares of 2,400 Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $122,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Jmac Enterprises LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter worth about $218,000. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 40.5% in the 3rd quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 6,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 1,876 shares during the period. Baugh & Associates LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC now owns 89,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,430,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the period. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the third quarter worth approximately $434,000. Finally, M&G PLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 91,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,680,000 after acquiring an additional 6,041 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup upped 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.33.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock opened at $53.54 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $55.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $51.49 and its 200 day moving average is $48.70. The company has a market capitalization of $90.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.62%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio 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.