Independent Wealth Network Inc. Grows Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Independent Wealth Network Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,421 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MO. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in Altria Group by 3.5% in the third quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $50.82 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $58.03. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $54.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.11. The stock has a market cap of $86.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MO. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.43.

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.