Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Has $930,000 Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,061 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,870 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 44,456,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,857,271,000 after acquiring an additional 840,559 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,609,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,432,000 after purchasing an additional 42,490 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,526,000 after buying an additional 1,343,094 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 8.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,174,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,278,000 after buying an additional 722,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 19.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,464,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,850,000 after buying an additional 1,038,408 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.04. 429,512 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,719,813. The company has a market cap of $75.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.50. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $46.67.

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

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.90%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.01%.

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.