Aviance Capital Partners LLC Has $1.70 Million Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 38,896 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $46.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,028,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,174,387. The firm has a market cap of $79.42 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.75. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $47.19.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced 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 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.48%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.