Park Edge Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Park Edge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 16,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $936,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Gould Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 79.0% in the fourth quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 634.5% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.4%

Altria Group stock opened at $65.73 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $65.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.53. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.82 and a twelve month high of $70.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.41.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 287.61% and a net margin of 29.84%.The company had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $1,885,743.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 180,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,221,318.33. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.