GAMMA Investing LLC Has $129.79 Million Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 6,969.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,162,401 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,131,813 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.13% of Altria Group worth $129,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MO. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Thursday, reaching $59.36. 9,054,176 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,646,273. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.83 and a twelve month high of $61.26. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $58.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.87%. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.