MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Acquires 2,948 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 91,765 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,948 shares during the quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 420.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Fairman Group LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 330.4% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $51.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $54.29 and a 200-day moving average of $52.03. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03. The company has a market capitalization of $87.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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 $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.86%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.