HighTower Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. by 72% in the first quarter, owning over 2.3 million shares valued at approximately $139.9 million.
• Altria Group reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.44 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with a revenue of $5.29 billion, up 0.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 6.2% and a payout ratio of 78.92%.

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 72.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,331,031 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 975,506 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.14% of Altria Group worth $139,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 88.5% during the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 8,536 shares of the company's stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 4,007 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 6,954 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 36,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,162,000 after acquiring an additional 5,440 shares in the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 12,217 shares of the company's stock valued at $733,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 152.2% during the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 58,268 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,497,000 after acquiring an additional 35,168 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $65.58. The stock had a trading volume of 10,747,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,184,633. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.08. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $48.86 and a 12-month high of $66.29. The firm has a market cap of $110.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Two equities 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $59.13.

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.