Avestar Capital LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Avestar Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,623 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 63.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $57.58 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $57.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $52.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.90. The firm has a market cap of $97.59 billion, a PE ratio of 9.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The company’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. Research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.33.

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.