McIlrath & Eck LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 25.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,186 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 441 shares during the quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $114,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Novem Group purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $215,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 326,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,084,000 after purchasing an additional 40,146 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 117.6% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 58,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,062,000 after buying an additional 31,647 shares during the last quarter. CSS LLC IL lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. CSS LLC IL now owns 30,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,569,000 after buying an additional 6,800 shares during the period. Finally, First Heartland Consultants Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.7%

MO stock opened at $59.46 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.83 and a 52 week high of $61.26. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MO. UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.00.

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.