Kovack Advisors Inc. Raises Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 15.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,858 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,152 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 293.6% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after buying an additional 41,432 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 8.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,174,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,278,000 after acquiring an additional 722,258 shares during the last quarter. Ellerson Group Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ellerson Group Inc. ADV now owns 6,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375 shares during the period. EHP Funds Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $324,000. Finally, Legacy Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 8,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MO. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. One equities 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.2 %

MO traded down $0.10 during trading on Thursday, reaching $45.95. 3,663,821 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,576,390. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $47.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.32 and a 200 day moving average of $42.81. The stock has a market cap of $78.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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 $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.53%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.