Steele Capital Management Inc. Takes $228,000 Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Steele Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% in the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 1,800.0% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $43.92. The company had a trading volume of 3,211,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,870,279. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.46. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $48.04. The company has a market capitalization of $75.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MO. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.