Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 14.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,595 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 695 shares during the period. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $137,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,127,218,000 after buying an additional 2,296,972 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 6,969.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,787,000 after buying an additional 2,131,813 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $91,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Altria Group by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $859,257,000 after buying an additional 1,444,021 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $59.74 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $58.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.11. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.83 and a twelve month high of $61.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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 $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MO. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.00.

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.