5,236 Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Purchased by Sivia Capital Partners LLC

Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 5,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 154.4% in the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the business’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 value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Altria Group stock traded down $0.22 on Wednesday, hitting $45.83. 1,547,602 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,101,189. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $45.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.81. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $47.19. The company has a market cap of $78.72 billion, a PE ratio of 9.60, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio 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.