Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. Purchases 2,018 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. boosted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,317 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,018 shares during the quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of MO stock opened at $59.85 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.83 and a twelve month high of $61.26. The company has a market cap of $100.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.58.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.82%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Citigroup upped their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.00.

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.