Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,969 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $59.74 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.92 and a fifty-two week high of $61.26. The business’s 50-day moving average is $58.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.09. The company has a market cap of $100.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted 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. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. The company had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. Citigroup upped their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.00.

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.