Strategic Advisors LLC Acquires 1,072 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,937 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares during the quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MO. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Altria Group by 4,665.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,972,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,241,000 after acquiring an additional 3,888,907 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343,094 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $525,810,000. United Services Automobile Association boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 103.9% in the 4th quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 1,803,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,742,000 after purchasing an additional 919,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,674,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,567,000 after purchasing an additional 915,478 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Altria Group stock traded down $0.08 on Friday, reaching $45.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 948,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,038,404. The company has a market capitalization of $78.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.85. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $47.19.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its 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 analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.55%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.01%.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.