BTS Asset Management Inc. Takes $341,000 Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

BTS Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,685 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $341,000. Altria Group makes up approximately 0.4% of BTS Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company's stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company's stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its position in Altria Group by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,499 shares of the company's stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Skyline Advisors Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Skyline Advisors Inc. now owns 9,255 shares of the company's stock worth $555,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 13,778 shares of the company's stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MO. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $0.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $59.74. The stock had a trading volume of 10,168,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,645,100. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.83 and a 52 week high of $61.26. The firm's fifty day moving average is $58.66 and its 200 day moving average is $56.10. The stock has a market cap of $100.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Altria Group's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast 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 issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.83%. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

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.