McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,261 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,547 shares during the quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $537,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Altria Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MO. Citigroup upped their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.43.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Altria Group stock opened at $51.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $54.29 and a 200-day moving average of $51.95. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.92%.

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.