Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 17.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,485 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,455 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Csenge Advisory Group increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 54,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,859,000 after purchasing an additional 12,320 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Altria Group by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,418,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,441,000 after buying an additional 523,146 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its position in Altria Group by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 70,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,703,000 after purchasing an additional 20,309 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp boosted its position in Altria Group by 56.1% during the fourth quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 27,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 10,058 shares during the period. Finally, WealthCare Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC now owns 19,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of MO opened at $59.74 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.83 and a 1 year high of $61.26. The stock has a market cap of $100.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $58.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.11.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.00.

About Altria Group

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.