Advisor Resource Council Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Advisor Resource Council bought a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 17,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $988,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV acquired a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $653,000 after buying an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winebrenner Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $359,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $59.60 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $45.17 and a one year high of $61.26. The company has a market cap of $100.39 billion, a PE ratio of 9.98, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $59.04 and a 200-day moving average of $56.17.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.85%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. UBS Group boosted 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus 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.