MCF Advisors LLC Grows Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,321 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 201 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO opened at $51.47 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $58.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.93%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.