Wedbush Securities Inc. Acquires 1,254 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,113 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Altria Group Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $56.05 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $55.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.80. The company has a market cap of $94.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.65 and a 12-month high of $60.18.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.28%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

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.