Range Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Range Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 14.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 47,917 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,970 shares during the quarter. Altria Group comprises 1.3% of Range Financial Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Range Financial Group LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Csenge Advisory Group increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 54,684 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,859,000 after purchasing an additional 12,320 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in Altria Group by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,418,074 shares of the company's stock worth $126,441,000 after purchasing an additional 523,146 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its position in Altria Group by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 70,826 shares of the company's stock worth $3,703,000 after purchasing an additional 20,309 shares in the last quarter. First Merchants Corp boosted its position in Altria Group by 56.1% during the fourth quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 27,983 shares of the company's stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 10,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WealthCare Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC now owns 19,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $59.25 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $99.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $58.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.02. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.83 and a 1 year high of $61.26.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.

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