Lmcg Investments LLC Buys 4,933 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Lmcg Investments LLC raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 28.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,247 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,933 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO opened at $59.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $99.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.06, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $43.83 and a one year high of $61.26. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $58.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.99.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MO. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.

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