Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. Purchases 799 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,827 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 799 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 1,800.0% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of MO stock traded down $0.04 on Tuesday, hitting $44.66. The stock had a trading volume of 695,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,052,874. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $47.19. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $44.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.51. The firm has a market cap of $76.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.35, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Insider Activity

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

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.