Harbour Investments Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 12.3%, owning a total of 56,734 shares valued at $3,405,000 as of the most recent quarter.
• Altria Group reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.44, exceeding analysts' estimates by $0.07, and had revenues of $5.29 billion, slightly above expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 6.6% and a dividend payout ratio of 68.34%.

Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 12.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,734 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,194 shares during the quarter. Harbour Investments Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 226.3% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 51.8% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of MO stock opened at $61.87 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.34 and a 200 day moving average of $57.31. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.57 and a 52 week high of $62.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%. The company had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders 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 6.6%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group raised Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.13.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.