Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Raises Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 48.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,761 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,421 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 63.9% in the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.6 %

MO opened at $55.01 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $53.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.22 billion, a PE ratio of 9.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.63. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.33.

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.