Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of 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, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $51.04. 4,012,024 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,364,176. The company has a market capitalization of $86.50 billion, a PE ratio of 8.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $58.03. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $54.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.92.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.