Albion Financial Group UT Purchases 911 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 49.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,767 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 911 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $121,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 154.4% during the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $45.93 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $78.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $47.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $45.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.81.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.53%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MO. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

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.