Rossmore Private Capital Grows Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Key Points

• Rossmore Private Capital increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. by 31.6% in the 1st quarter, acquiring 6,266 additional shares and bringing total holdings to 26,070 shares valued at approximately $1.57 million.
• Altria recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 6.2% and a payout ratio of 78.92%.
• The stock has a market cap of $110.39 billion and recently opened at $65.71, with a 52-week range from $48.86 to $65.95.

Rossmore Private Capital grew its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 31.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,070 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,266 shares during the quarter. Rossmore Private Capital's holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MO. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 88.5% during the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 8,536 shares of the company's stock worth $512,000 after acquiring an additional 4,007 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the company's stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 6,954 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 17.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 36,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,162,000 after buying an additional 5,440 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 12.2% in the first quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 12,217 shares of the company's stock worth $733,000 after acquiring an additional 1,325 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 152.2% in the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 58,268 shares of the company's stock worth $3,497,000 after acquiring an additional 35,168 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $65.58. 10,747,938 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,184,633. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $60.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.08. The company has a market cap of $110.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $48.86 and a 52 week high of $66.29.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%. Altria Group's payout ratio is currently 78.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised shares of Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.13.

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.