Pineridge Advisors LLC Invests $28,000 in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC now owns 81,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,304,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 6,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $44.32. 10,651,618 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,216,503. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $47.19. The business has a 50-day moving average of $44.36 and a 200-day moving average of $42.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.84%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MO. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Company 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.