Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by North Star Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 21.2%, owning 33,152 shares valued at approximately $1.99 million after acquiring additional shares in the first quarter.
• Altria Group reported a quarterly EPS of $1.44, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenues of $5.29 billion, marking a year-over-year increase of 0.2%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $4.08 and a dividend yield of 6.64%.

North Star Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 21.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,152 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,802 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Bridge Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth $566,000. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.9% during the first quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,332 shares of the company's stock worth $1,400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 6.8% during the first quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 9,424 shares of the company's stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 18.1% during the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 97,269 shares of the company's stock worth $5,838,000 after purchasing an additional 14,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First National Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 24.1% during the first quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 172,402 shares of the company's stock worth $10,348,000 after purchasing an additional 33,491 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.13.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.3%

MO traded down $0.17 on Friday, reaching $61.77. The stock had a trading volume of 9,687,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,502,353. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.86 and a 12-month high of $62.65. The business's 50-day moving average price is $59.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.39. The company has a market cap of $104.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.92%.

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.