Riverview Trust Co Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. lifted 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1,800.0% during the 3rd 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 currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of 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, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $46.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.71, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $47.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $44.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.66.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.44%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 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.