Evernest Financial Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 5,110 Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Evernest Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 305,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,603,000 after purchasing an additional 40,574 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 2,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,027,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,960,000 after acquiring an additional 16,541 shares in the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,476,000 after acquiring an additional 10,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $49.07 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $51.51 and its 200-day moving average is $47.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.27, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 85.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.20.

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.