Weaver Consulting Group Buys New Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Weaver Consulting Group purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 7.0% during the first quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CFM Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% during 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading 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. The company has a market capitalization of $78.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.74. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $47.19.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.