Mork Capital Management LLC Acquires New Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Mork Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 19,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $999,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on MO shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $56.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.90 billion, a PE ratio of 8.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.83 and a 1 year high of $61.26. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.34.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.17%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

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.