Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.

Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 56.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,645 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,907 shares during the period. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 6,969.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,162,401 shares of the company's stock worth $129,787,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,813 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $91,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Altria Group by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock worth $859,257,000 after buying an additional 1,444,021 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Altria Group by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,927,340 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323,421 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 86.0% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,675,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $139,894,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236,782 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $57.79 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.34 billion, a PE ratio of 9.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $47.53 and a 12 month high of $61.26.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MO. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report 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 report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set 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 given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.75.

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.

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