Sunbelt Securities Inc. Buys 18,448 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 27.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,826 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,448 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on MO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on Altria Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $59.30 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $43.83 and a one year high of $61.26. The company has a market cap of $99.89 billion, a PE ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $58.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.64.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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