Raleigh Capital Management Inc. Boosts Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 261.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,382 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,573 shares during the quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Register Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 1,585 shares during the last quarter. TPG Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $253,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 9,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MO. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Altria Group news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $1,885,743.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares in the company, valued at $12,221,318.33. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $66.51 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $111.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day moving average of $66.13 and a 200 day moving average of $62.52. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.82 and a 52 week high of $70.51.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced 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 net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. The business had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

Altria Group Company Profile

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.