Cornerstone Advisory LLC Boosts Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Cornerstone Advisory LLC increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,137 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisory LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $795,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% in the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 51.8% in the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MO. Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.75.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE MO opened at $59.82 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $59.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.10. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.57 and a 12-month high of $61.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

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.