Financial Advisors Network Inc. Has $342,000 Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Financial Advisors Network Inc. raised its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 73.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,478 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,601 shares during the period. Financial Advisors Network Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $342,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 39.9% during the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 27,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 7,785 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 18,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $759,000 after acquiring an additional 2,003 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 38,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,638,000 after acquiring an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 614,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,830,000 after acquiring an additional 16,732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 520,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,900,000 after acquiring an additional 56,655 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $45.76. The stock had a trading volume of 2,811,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,526,459. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $46.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $43.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.86. The firm has a market cap of $78.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.