Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by SteelPeak Wealth LLC

SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 47.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 37,514 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,005 shares during the quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,673,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake 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. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 67.6% during the fourth 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 acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $45.55 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $45.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.75. The company has a market cap of $78.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $47.19.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly 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 negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MO. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report 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 report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.