Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,787 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,720 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stablepoint Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 8,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 90.4% in the fourth quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 39,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,042,000 after purchasing an additional 18,546 shares in the last quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas increased its stake in Altria Group by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas now owns 7,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,522 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 177,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,257,000 after purchasing an additional 6,031 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 19,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,013,000 after buying an additional 2,225 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $53.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.43 billion, a PE ratio of 9.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $58.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $53.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.21.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on MO shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.43.

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.