Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC Has $653,000 Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,489 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 620 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,679,000 after acquiring an additional 46,697 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in Altria Group by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 367,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,215,000 after purchasing an additional 19,893 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 240,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,573,000 after purchasing an additional 12,011 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,508,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,935,224,000 after purchasing an additional 589,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 729.8% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,969,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731,932 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $55.01 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.70. The company has a market cap of $93.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.29.

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.