Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 26,683 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,370,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,679,000 after purchasing an additional 46,697 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company's stock worth $15,603,000 after acquiring an additional 40,574 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Altria Group by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company's stock worth $19,215,000 after acquiring an additional 19,893 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company's stock worth $11,476,000 after acquiring an additional 10,079 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,456,308 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,330,000 after acquiring an additional 32,318 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $51.92. 6,528,941 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,772,463. The company's fifty day moving average is $54.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.99. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03. The stock has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.86%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 68.92%.

About Altria Group

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.