Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,956 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,498 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.
Altria Group Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $1.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $58.78. The company had a trading volume of 6,783,045 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,875,001. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.65. The firm has a market cap of $99.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.65 and a 1-year high of $60.20.
Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.
Altria Group Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 62.29%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.00.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MO
About Altria Group
(
Free Report)
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.
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