Connectus Wealth LLC boosted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 147.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 717,583 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 427,746 shares during the quarter. Connectus Wealth LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $29,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
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Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 26,164 shares of the company's stock worth $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 5,917 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $91,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $552,000. Waterloo Capital L.P. acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $1,482,000. Finally, Platform Technology Partners raised its holdings in Altria Group by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 6,883 shares of the company's stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 1,625 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages have issued reports on MO. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.90.
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Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on MO
Altria Group Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,491,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,606,422. The company has a market cap of $80.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.64. The business's 50 day moving average price is $44.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.33. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $47.19.
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Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Altria Group Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group's payout ratio is 82.01%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group
In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.
About Altria Group
(Free Report)
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.
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