Kovack Advisors Inc. Has $2.61 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 15.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 59,858 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,152 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 7.0% in 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 period. Salvus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 1.8% during the 4th 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 position 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 worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Finally, CFM Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $45.95. The company had a trading volume of 3,663,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,576,390. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.81. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $47.19. The company has a market cap of $78.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 82.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MO. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.