Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. Purchases Shares of 6,257 Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. purchased a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $376,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,670 shares of the company's stock valued at $296,000 after buying an additional 1,385 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $137,536,000. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $219,000. Finally, Welch & Forbes LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 22,462 shares of the company's stock worth $1,175,000 after buying an additional 1,217 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.45 on Friday, hitting $59.62. 4,776,064 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,581,112. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.87 and a 1 year high of $61.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.43 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. Altria Group's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business 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 $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $57.71.

About Altria Group

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.