Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC

Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,442 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 63.9% during the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $54.66. The company had a trading volume of 2,002,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,835,805. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $55.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on MO. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.33.

About Altria Group

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.