Park Avenue Securities LLC Buys 6,285 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 8.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,784 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,285 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock worth $926,000 after acquiring an additional 6,954 shares during the last quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the company's stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 4,458 shares of the company's stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $291,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 9,622 shares of the company's stock worth $503,000 after buying an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $59.25 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.83 and a 52 week high of $61.26. The company has a market capitalization of $99.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.05, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $58.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.02.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is 68.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted 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. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.

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