Advyzon Investment Management LLC Acquires New Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• Advyzon Investment Management LLC has invested approximately $319,000 in Altria Group, acquiring 5,319 shares during the 1st quarter.
• Altria Group's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.44, exceeding analyst expectations and indicating a slight revenue increase of 0.2% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, yielding 6.5%, with a payout ratio of 78.92%.

Advyzon Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 5,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $319,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% during the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $59.13.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.66 during trading on Friday, hitting $64.21. The stock had a trading volume of 5,433,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,586,698. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.78. The company has a market capitalization of $107.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $48.86 and a 1 year high of $64.35.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.4%. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 78.92%.

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.