Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,025 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 11,012 shares of the company's stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 6,954 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 16,458 shares of the company's stock worth $861,000 after acquiring an additional 3,769 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its position in Altria Group by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 5,935 shares of the company's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 19,378 shares of the company's stock worth $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on MO shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $59.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,214,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,668,349. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $43.83 and a 52-week high of $61.26. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $58.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.75. The stock has a market cap of $100.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 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 firm had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Altria Group Company 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.