Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by CFC Planning Co LLC

CFC Planning Co LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 14.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 45,070 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,831 shares during the period. Altria Group accounts for approximately 3.0% of CFC Planning Co LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. CFC Planning Co LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. Vista Investment Partners II LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% during the first quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 37.8% in the 1st quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 689 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% during 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 last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc raised its stake in Altria Group by 3.1% during the first quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,499 shares of the company's stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Skyline Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 2.2% during the first quarter. Skyline Advisors Inc. now owns 9,255 shares of the company's stock worth $555,000 after acquiring an additional 200 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 equities analysts have commented on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.75.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO traded down $0.76 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $57.79. 9,428,820 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,665,072. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.11 and a twelve month high of $61.26. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $59.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a net margin of 43.09% and a negative return on equity of 295.44%. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. Altria Group's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current 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 paid 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 dividend yield of 7.06%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

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.