Breakwater Capital Group Invests $425,000 in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Breakwater Capital Group acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,078 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $425,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 58,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,244 shares during the period. Choreo LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 78.8% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 136,987 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,141,000 after purchasing an additional 60,369 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its position in Altria Group by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 10,838 shares of the company's stock worth $567,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. Finally, Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,674 shares of the company's stock worth $715,000 after buying an additional 910 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $59.25. 4,856,074 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,628,405. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $58.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.02. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.83 and a twelve month high of $61.26. The company has a market cap of $99.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. 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 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.89%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

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.