Synergy Asset Management LLC Acquires 66,848 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 565.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,680 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,848 shares during the quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $59.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $100.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.17. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $45.17 and a one year high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 43.09% and a negative return on equity of 295.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MO. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.00.

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.