LPL Financial LLC Purchases 331,747 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,128,789 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 331,747 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Altria Group worth $163,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MO. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company's stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company's stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company's stock valued at $681,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Altria Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp grew its stake in Altria Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company's stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO traded up $1.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $57.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,701,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,778,362. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.65 and a twelve month high of $59.67. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.51. The company has a market capitalization of $97.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.82, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 62.29%.

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.