Chapin Davis Inc. Raises Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Chapin Davis Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,034 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 465 shares during the quarter. Chapin Davis Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. KPP Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth about $3,128,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 293.6% during the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 55,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,336,000 after purchasing an additional 41,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Altria Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,011,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,789 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MO. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the 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 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 the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $46.38. 560,582 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,169,623. The business has a 50-day moving average of $45.19 and a 200 day moving average of $42.75. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $47.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.66 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.45%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.