Courier Capital LLC Buys 3,856 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Courier Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 35.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,806 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,856 shares during the quarter. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,279,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,701,000 after buying an additional 242,442 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,526,000 after buying an additional 1,343,094 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 8.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 9,174,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,278,000 after acquiring an additional 722,258 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,762,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,281,000 after purchasing an additional 337,548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 54.1% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,710,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,084,000 after purchasing an additional 1,653,455 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. 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 report on Friday, May 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of MO stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $45.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,759,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,252,351. The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.04 and a 200-day moving average of $42.69. The stock has a market cap of $78.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $47.19.

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, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

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.