Strategic Advisors LLC Purchases 1,072 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Strategic Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,937 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares during the quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $433,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 8.5% during 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. EHP Funds Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at $324,000. Legacy Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the third quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 8,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 678.8% in the third quarter. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA now owns 3,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 2,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JT Stratford LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 7.0% in the third quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MO. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, 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. One 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $45.87. 948,582 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,038,404. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $47.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $45.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.85.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.55%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group 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.