Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stock Holdings Lifted by Claro Advisors LLC

Claro Advisors LLC lifted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 7.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,178 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the period. Salvus Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Finally, CFM Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC now owns 81,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,304,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of MO opened at $46.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $79.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $47.19. The company’s fifty day moving average is $45.19 and its 200-day moving average is $42.75.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly 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. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share 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 $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 82.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Altria Group Company 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.