Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 40,896 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,821 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 21,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $987,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Day & Ennis LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 4.9% during the third quarter. Day & Ennis LLC now owns 5,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 2.6% during the third quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.9 %

Altria Group stock opened at $42.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $72.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $48.04. The company’s 50 day moving average is $41.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.43.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

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.