Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Acquired by Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.

Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 295,349 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,633 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up about 1.5% of Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $17,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 79.0% during the 4th quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $1,885,743.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,221,318.33. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MO shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays increased their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.88.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $66.86 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.70 and a fifty-two week high of $70.51. The firm has a market cap of $111.74 billion, a PE ratio of 16.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s fifty day moving average is $66.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.58.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.The business had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.61 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.16%.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.