Goldstone Financial Group LLC Buys 2,324 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Goldstone Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 37.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,540 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the period. Goldstone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $513,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Skyline Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Skyline Advisors Inc. now owns 9,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $555,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 13,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MO. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $59.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $100.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $43.83 and a 12-month high of $61.26. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.11.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.34%.

About Altria Group

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.