Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by Berkeley Capital Partners LLC

Berkeley Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 36.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 34,438 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,163 shares during the quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MO. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in 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 bought a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth about $91,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Altria Group by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 16,432,535 shares of the company's stock worth $859,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444,021 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Altria Group by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,927,340 shares of the company's stock worth $466,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323,421 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in Altria Group by 86.0% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,675,347 shares of the company's stock worth $139,894,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236,782 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.75.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.99 during trading on Monday, reaching $59.01. 4,148,203 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,668,583. The stock's fifty day moving average is $59.06 and its 200 day moving average is $56.87. The firm has a market cap of $99.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $47.57 and a 1 year high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a net margin of 43.09% and a negative return on equity of 295.44%. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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 declared 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 6.91%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Altria Group 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.