CreativeOne Wealth LLC Grows Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 226,184 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,777 shares during the quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $14,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,226,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,008,000 after purchasing an additional 41,390 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 213.6% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 14,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $967,000 after buying an additional 9,975 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in Altria Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 192,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,737,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 26.0% in the third quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 56,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,749,000 after buying an additional 11,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 9.0% in the third quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,534,000 after buying an additional 1,925 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup increased their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.33.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.7%

MO opened at $66.48 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.61. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.82 and a 52-week high of $70.51. The company has a market cap of $111.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.18, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 103.16%.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.