San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 18.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,437 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,588 shares during the period. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,015,000 after purchasing an additional 5,416 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 31,892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,668,000 after buying an additional 2,379 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 50,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,651,000 after buying an additional 6,060 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 24,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $51.32 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03. The company has a market cap of $86.98 billion, a PE ratio of 8.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $54.44 and a 200 day moving average of $51.92.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.95%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.33.

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.