Financial Planning Hawaii Inc. Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Financial Planning Hawaii Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $548,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Gould Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 79.0% in the 4th quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 634.5% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.7%

MO stock opened at $66.97 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.82 and a 12 month high of $70.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.49. The stock has a market cap of $111.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In related news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $1,885,743.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,221,318.33. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MO. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.11.

Altria Group Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.