Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC Raises Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 177,034 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,031 shares during the quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $9,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MO. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 163.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 50,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,317,000 after buying an additional 31,568 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 68.5% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 66,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,008,000 after purchasing an additional 26,853 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 81,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,726,000 after purchasing an additional 7,323 shares in the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $367,000. Finally, Delta Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO opened at $52.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $88.17 billion, a PE ratio of 8.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average of $53.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.14. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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 $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.43.

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.