Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Has $6.92 Million Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 171,453 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,952 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,916,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mcintyre Freedman & Flynn Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 58,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. UBS Group raised their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $43.83. 4,295,522 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,881,695. The company has a market capitalization of $75.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $48.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.