Precedent Wealth Partners LLC Raises Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Precedent Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 18.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,272 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,302 shares during the quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE MO traded down $1.04 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $58.77. The company had a trading volume of 10,533,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,644,635. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $58.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.09. The stock has a market cap of $99.00 billion, a PE ratio of 8.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $43.92 and a one year high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion for 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.94%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

Altria Group Company 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.