Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 13.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,021 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,253 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,618,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 154.4% during the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 67.6% during the fourth 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. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MO shares. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group upped 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.09 on Friday, hitting $45.55. The company had a trading volume of 12,238,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,876,758. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $47.19. The business has a 50 day moving average of $45.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.53, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.01%.

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.