Aurora Private Wealth Inc. Acquires Shares of 48,018 Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Aurora Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 48,018 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,882,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 41,938,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,193,687,000 after buying an additional 1,134,748 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Altria Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 22,273,491 shares of the company's stock worth $1,164,681,000 after acquiring an additional 76,004 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Altria Group by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock worth $859,257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444,021 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,801,958 shares of the company's stock worth $617,124,000 after acquiring an additional 983,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Altria Group by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,927,340 shares of the company's stock worth $466,811,000 after acquiring an additional 1,323,421 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.45 on Friday, hitting $59.62. The stock had a trading volume of 4,776,064 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,581,112. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $45.87 and a 52-week high of $61.26. The stock has a market cap of $100.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.59. The company's 50 day moving average price is $59.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.45.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict 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 will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.84%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective 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. Barclays lifted their price target on 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 Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $57.71.

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.