Viking Fund Management LLC Has $7.86 Million Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Viking Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 180,250 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,650 shares during the period. Altria Group accounts for about 1.4% of Viking Fund Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% during the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1,800.0% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Altria Group Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE MO traded down $1.01 on Thursday, reaching $45.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,572,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,223,337. The firm has a market cap of $77.89 billion, a PE ratio of 9.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $47.19. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $45.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.69.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.64%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

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.