Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Boosts Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 82.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,395 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,686 shares during the quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 154.4% in the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MO. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.81. The company had a trading volume of 11,552,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,975,853. The stock has a market cap of $75.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.17, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $48.04.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Altria Group announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.