Arrow Investment Advisors LLC Invests $440,000 in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Arrow Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 7,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $440,000. Altria Group accounts for 0.5% of Arrow Investment Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MO. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 85.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 10,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 4,617 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 181,325 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,481,000 after buying an additional 5,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Sense Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. now owns 91,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,791,000 after buying an additional 31,146 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $59.60. 23,252,995 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,665,174. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.17 and a 12-month high of $61.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.39 billion, a PE ratio of 9.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $59.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.18.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during 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 business'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 posted $1.15 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.85%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

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.