Lifeworks Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Lifeworks Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 17.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,783 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares during the quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 22,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares in the last quarter. Blankinship & Foster LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $243,000. RKL Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1,179.8% in the 4th quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 51,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,690,000 after buying an additional 47,418 shares during the last quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 210.1% during the 4th quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 35,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,877,000 after acquiring an additional 68,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 55,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,900,000 after acquiring an additional 3,614 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MO. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $57.79 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $53.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.70 billion, a PE ratio of 8.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.65 and a 52-week high of $58.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 62.29%.

Altria Group Company 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.