Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stake Raised by Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC

Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 104,623 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,885 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up 0.7% of Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Exchange Bank raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Bank now owns 14,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $759,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $918,000 after buying an additional 5,985 shares during the period. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $2,083,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 24,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,295,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lmcg Investments LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 17,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,000 after acquiring an additional 4,023 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MO. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $51.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $54.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.07. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.93%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

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.