Collar Capital Management LLC Buys New Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Collar Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 28,806 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,506,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Enterprise Financial Services Corp lifted its stake in Altria Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company's stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company's stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Altria Group by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company's stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,592 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $60.51 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $43.58 and a 1-year high of $60.64. The stock has a market cap of $101.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $57.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.74%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

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.

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