Kowal Investment Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Kowal Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 13.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,349 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,621 shares during the quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,279,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,701,000 after purchasing an additional 242,442 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343,094 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 8.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,174,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,278,000 after acquiring an additional 722,258 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,762,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,281,000 after acquiring an additional 337,548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 54.1% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,710,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,084,000 after acquiring an additional 1,653,455 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO traded up $0.23 during trading on Monday, hitting $45.78. 3,876,929 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,197,176. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $47.19. The firm has a market cap of $78.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.75.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.56%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

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.