Weaver Consulting Group Invests $204,000 in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Weaver Consulting Group bought a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 154.4% in the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1,800.0% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE MO traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $45.55. 12,238,540 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,876,758. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $47.19. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.74.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.61%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

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.