Premier Fund Managers Ltd Has $8.23 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its position in Altria Group by 49.5% during the first quarter, owning a total of 142,000 shares worth approximately $8.23 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their holdings, including GAMMA Investing LLC, which raised its position by an astounding 6,969.4%.
• A recent downgrade by Wall Street Zen shifted Altria Group's rating from "buy" to "hold," reflecting a more cautious outlook amidst mixed analyst evaluations.

Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 49.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 142,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 47,000 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd's holdings in Altria Group were worth $8,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vista Investment Partners II LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 12,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,762 shares of the company's stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 37.8% during the 1st quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC now owns 689 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.13.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of MO traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $61.87. The stock had a trading volume of 6,336,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,265,809. The company has a market cap of $104.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $62.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $59.34 and a 200 day moving average of $57.31.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.34%.

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.