Oak Thistle LLC Purchases 36,440 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Oak Thistle LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 114.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,332 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 36,440 shares during the quarter. Altria Group accounts for approximately 0.8% of Oak Thistle LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Oak Thistle LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 17.3% in the first quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,024 shares of the company's stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 1,037 shares in the last quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 13.0% in the first quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC now owns 12,567 shares of the company's stock worth $754,000 after buying an additional 1,450 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 10.7% in the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,279 shares of the company's stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. United Bank boosted its stake in Altria Group by 168.5% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 11,994 shares of the company's stock worth $720,000 after buying an additional 7,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 90.9% in the first quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.82. 6,364,526 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,799,226. The company has a market cap of $100.77 billion, a PE ratio of 10.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $59.28 and a 200-day moving average of $57.10. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $47.57 and a 12 month high of $61.26.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.82%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Two equities research 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.75.

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.