Sig Brokerage LP Purchases New Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Sig Brokerage LP purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 6,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $324,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,420 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,015,000 after buying an additional 5,416 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 72,499 shares of the company's stock worth $3,791,000 after purchasing an additional 9,456 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 3,171 shares of the company's stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $125,000. Finally, Burney Co. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 9,515 shares of the company's stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. Citigroup lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays lifted 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $57.99 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $43.83 and a one year high of $61.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $97.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.41.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.04%. Altria Group's 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.

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