McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 22.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,477 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $60,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $43.54. 14,204,733 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,996,659. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $48.04. The company has a market cap of $74.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $42.12 and a 200 day moving average of $41.46.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.00%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 85.78%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Altria Group 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.