Kathmere Capital Management LLC Buys 6,288 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 29.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,708 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,288 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 154.4% in the first 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 bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% in the fourth 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 bought a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $988,303.65. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $45.56 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $47.19.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released 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 firm had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target 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. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

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.