Warner Financial Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Warner Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $278,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 64.7% during the fourth 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. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Altria Group by 91.0% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 97,963 shares of the company's stock worth $4,978,000 after buying an additional 46,670 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 85.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 10,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 4,617 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 5,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 37,652 shares of the company's stock worth $1,969,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Altria Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.3%

MO opened at $58.97 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $58.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.12. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.41 and a 52 week high of $61.26. The stock has a market cap of $99.33 billion, a PE ratio of 9.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.44% and a net margin of 43.09%. Altria Group's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.15 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group's payout ratio is 68.34%.

About Altria Group

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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