McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. Raises Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 22.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,477 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $60,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 103.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1,800.0% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MO. UBS Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $43.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,204,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,996,659. The stock has a market cap of $74.79 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $48.04. The business’s 50-day moving average is $42.12 and its 200-day moving average is $41.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 244.55% and a net margin of 33.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.78%.

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.