Sharpepoint LLC Buys 4,913 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Sharpepoint LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 24.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,071 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,913 shares during the quarter. Sharpepoint LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rogco LP increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Rogco LP now owns 12,710 shares of the company's stock worth $763,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth about $202,000. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,902 shares of the company's stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 33,908 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,035,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Court Place Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Court Place Advisors LLC now owns 9,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $587,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upgraded Altria Group from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.75.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of MO traded down $0.76 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $57.79. 9,428,820 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,665,072. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.11 and a fifty-two week high of $61.26. The company has a market cap of $97.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's fifty day moving average is $59.25 and its 200 day moving average is $56.61.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. Altria Group's revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.06%. Altria Group's payout ratio is 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.