Simon Quick Advisors LLC Buys 2,148 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 25.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,433 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,148 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Altria Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:MO opened at $50.82 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.11. The stock has a market cap of $86.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.58, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.03%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 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.