Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 144,956 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,498 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MO. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $58.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $98.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.65 and a 1 year high of $59.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. On average, 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 Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.01%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.29.

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.