Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC Boosts Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC raised its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 3,091.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 227,914 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 220,773 shares during the quarter. Altria Group accounts for about 1.4% of Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $11,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,355,509 shares of the company's stock worth $562,793,000 after acquiring an additional 191,236 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 25.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,490,441 shares of the company's stock worth $295,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299,703 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 5.0% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,060,589 shares of the company's stock worth $230,510,000 after acquiring an additional 243,201 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.6% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,888,137 shares of the company's stock worth $222,655,000 after acquiring an additional 215,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 19.9% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 4,034,414 shares of the company's stock worth $205,916,000 after acquiring an additional 670,858 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MO shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America decreased their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.33.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.0 %

Altria Group stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.07. 5,704,722 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,838,822. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $51.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $55.05.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business's revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.55%. Altria Group's payout ratio is 68.92%.

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.