PFG Advisors Grows Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

PFG Advisors increased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,809 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Altria Group were worth $409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $59.82 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.57 and a fifty-two week high of $61.26. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.06. The company has a market cap of $100.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Barclays raised their price target on 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 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup increased their price target 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.75.

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.