Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,438 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,001 shares during the quarter. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% during the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $49.98 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $51.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.29. The firm has a market cap of $85.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The company’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 85.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MO. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America raised their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.67.

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.