HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Has $1.06 Million Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,189 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,293 shares during the quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 12.1% in the first quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 2,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 7.0% during the 1st 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. Triumph Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 15,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Carson Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 6,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 9,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MO. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.10.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $988,303.65. Following 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $49.45. The company had a trading volume of 5,743,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,836,523. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $46.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.33. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $49.92. The stock has a market cap of $84.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.36, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 82.01%.

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.