Spire Wealth Management Raises Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,282 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 11,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 13.2% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 875,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,832,000 after buying an additional 101,937 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 10.5% in the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 70,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,964,000 after acquiring an additional 6,720 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 10.9% during the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 11,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $223,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $43.98 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $42.62 and a 200 day moving average of $41.50. The company has a market cap of $75.54 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $46.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.