Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC

Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 24.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,882 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,959 shares during the quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,456,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,857,271,000 after acquiring an additional 840,559 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,609,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,432,000 after purchasing an additional 42,490 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343,094 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,174,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,278,000 after buying an additional 722,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,464,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,850,000 after buying an additional 1,038,408 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $43.56. The stock had a trading volume of 4,742,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,794,118. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $46.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $42.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.49.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.00%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

About Altria Group

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.