5,230 Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Acquired by J2 Capital Management Inc

J2 Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 5,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $314,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MO. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position 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 during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Altria Group by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 140,591 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,352,000 after acquiring an additional 4,211 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 921 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 432,289 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,604,000 after acquiring an additional 44,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $127,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:MO traded up $0.91 during trading on Friday, hitting $60.39. 12,765,415 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,656,419. The stock has a market cap of $101.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.83 and a fifty-two week high of $61.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $58.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.88.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.00.

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.