Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by Insight Folios Inc

Insight Folios Inc raised its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,971 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,255 shares during the quarter. Altria Group makes up about 2.7% of Insight Folios Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Insight Folios Inc’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 67.6% in 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 last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.2 %

MO stock traded down $0.10 on Thursday, hitting $45.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,663,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,576,390. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.83. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $47.19. The stock has a market cap of $78.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Altria Group

In other Altria Group news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target 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. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.90.

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.