10,850 Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Purchased by Aspetuck Financial Management LLC

Aspetuck Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $651,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,805,286 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,127,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,296,972 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,938,507 shares of the company's stock worth $2,193,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134,748 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Altria Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 22,273,491 shares of the company's stock worth $1,164,681,000 after purchasing an additional 76,004 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Altria Group by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $859,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Altria Group by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,801,958 shares of the company's stock valued at $617,124,000 after acquiring an additional 983,328 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.7%

MO traded down $0.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $58.36. 2,399,674 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,528,440. The stock has a market cap of $98.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.76, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.60. The business's 50 day moving average is $59.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.26. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.17 and a fifty-two week high of $61.26.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MO shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.