Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 161,628 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,659 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% in the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.11 on Friday, reaching $43.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,540,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,862,167. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $42.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.46. The firm has a market cap of $74.97 billion, a PE ratio of 9.46, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $48.04.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.78%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on MO shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

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.