Regal Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 4,917 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Regal Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 176,715 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,917 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $9,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth $2,041,000. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at about $209,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. increased its position in Altria Group by 7.8% during the third quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 20,300 shares of the company's stock worth $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 13,174 shares of the company's stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 3,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 82,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,208,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $42.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $54.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock traded up $0.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $58.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,765,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,964,269. The company has a market cap of $98.27 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $56.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.25. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.39 and a 52 week high of $60.18.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.02%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.29%.

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.