Ritholtz Wealth Management Acquires 8,096 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 165,110 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,096 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Altria Group were worth $9,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp boosted its stake in Altria Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company's stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Altria Group by 3.1% in the first quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,499 shares of the company's stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Skyline Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group by 2.2% in the first quarter. Skyline Advisors Inc. now owns 9,255 shares of the company's stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 13,778 shares of the company's stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MO. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price objective on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on 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 Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.00.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of MO traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $59.74. 10,168,742 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,637,053. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $43.92 and a 1-year high of $61.26. The firm 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $58.75 and a 200-day moving average of $56.10.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

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

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.