Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 14,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $578,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.4 %

MO traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $43.38. 13,794,252 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,969,122. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $42.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $48.04. The company has a market cap of $74.51 billion, a PE ratio of 9.08, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. Altria Group’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MO shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

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.