LifeWealth Investments LLC Raises Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

LifeWealth Investments LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 61.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,930 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,440 shares during the quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup upped their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays increased 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock traded up $0.42 on Wednesday, reaching $59.41. 8,260,948 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,638,898. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.12. The company has a market cap of $100.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $44.41 and a one year high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm 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 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. The company's revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

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.