Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Cascade Financial Partners LLC

Cascade Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 14.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,222 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Cascade Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 6,954 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Sarl boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 33.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 41,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,150,000 after acquiring an additional 10,392 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 21,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,127,000 after acquiring an additional 5,449 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,218,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,155,000 after acquiring an additional 222,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Inc. CA boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 284,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,870,000 after acquiring an additional 75,406 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $65.82 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.31 and its 200-day moving average is $58.30. The company has a market cap of $110.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $48.86 and a 12 month high of $66.29.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.13.

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.