NewEdge Wealth LLC Grows Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,966 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 969 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% during the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at $30,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $41.05 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $70.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.45. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $48.04.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict 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 initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MO. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Altria Group 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.