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

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 16.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 204,754 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,555 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $10,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Altria Group stock traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $55.01. The company had a trading volume of 8,815,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,319,094. The company has a market capitalization of $93.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03. The company's fifty day moving average is $52.61 and its 200-day moving average is $52.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.42%. Altria Group's payout ratio is 62.29%.

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.