Gallacher Capital Management LLC Invests $257,000 in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Gallacher Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,278 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vista Investment Partners II LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% in the first quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 37.8% in the first quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 689 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.3% in the first quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 8,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 3.1% in the first quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE MO traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $59.60. 4,108,093 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,193,146. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $47.57 and a 12 month high of $61.26. The company's 50 day moving average price is $59.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.40 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.85%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on MO. Citigroup upped their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.75.

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.