GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases 1,932 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,588 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,932 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MO. Founders Financial Securities LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $217,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 41.4% in the second quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 6,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,929 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 94.7% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 9,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 4,444 shares during the period. FineMark National Bank & Trust increased its position in Altria Group by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 57,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,600,000 after acquiring an additional 20,772 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.8% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,023,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,619,000 after acquiring an additional 37,240 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $53.14 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.63. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.50. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $58.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.33.

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.