Worth Asset Management LLC Invests $205,000 in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 4,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% during the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 1,800.0% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $46.45 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $44.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.63. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $47.19. The company has a market capitalization of $79.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.44%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

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.