LifeWealth Investments LLC Takes $549,000 Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

LifeWealth Investments LLC bought a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 10,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $549,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 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. RFG Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 16,458 shares of the company's stock worth $861,000 after purchasing an additional 3,769 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,626 shares during the period. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas now owns 7,339 shares of the company's stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,522 shares during the period. Finally, Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 90.4% during the fourth quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 39,057 shares of the company's stock worth $2,042,000 after purchasing an additional 18,546 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $0.13 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.75. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.83 and a 1 year high of $61.26. The company has a market capitalization of $100.41 billion, a PE 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. The company's revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.84%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.00.

About Altria Group

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.