BluePath Capital Management LLC Purchases 1,726 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

BluePath Capital Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 12.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,113 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,726 shares during the quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 154.4% during 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 during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $0.12 on Wednesday, hitting $45.93. The stock had a trading volume of 3,663,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,117,853. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $47.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $45.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.81. The company has a market capitalization of $78.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS 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 company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.53%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Altria Group 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.