Griffin Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 13.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 22,918 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,667 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.3% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 1,050,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,166,000 after acquiring an additional 52,528 shares during the period. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank grew its position in Altria Group by 144.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank now owns 11,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 6,585 shares during the period. Kinloch Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC now owns 41,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,758,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 884,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,179,000 after buying an additional 10,433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 563,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,712,000 after buying an additional 101,670 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $45.55 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $45.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.75. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $47.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 8.61%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.