Miracle Mile Advisors LLC Invests $392,000 in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 6,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $392,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $59.74. The company had a trading volume of 10,168,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,637,053. The company has a market capitalization of $100.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $58.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.11. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.92 and a 52 week high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The company's revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on MO. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $56.00.

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.