&Partners Invests $556,000 in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

&Partners purchased a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 12,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% in the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1,800.0% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $45.74 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $44.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $47.19. The company has a market capitalization of $78.56 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 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 the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.57%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.