Stonegate Investment Group LLC Raises Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,886 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 782 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $59.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $100.39 billion, a PE ratio of 9.98, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $59.04 and its 200 day moving average is $56.18. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $45.17 and a 52 week high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.85%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on MO shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.00.

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.