Altria Group, Inc. $MO Shares Bought by Procyon Advisors LLC

Procyon Advisors LLC grew its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 163.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,436 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,169 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 195,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,297,000 after buying an additional 8,165 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 8,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 1,719 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 356,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,536,000 after acquiring an additional 20,732 shares during the last quarter. Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $133,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank grew its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 12,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $733,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $64.46 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.45. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.82 and a 52 week high of $70.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $65.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.55.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the business’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 directly owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,221,318.33. The trade was a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MO. UBS Group increased their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays raised their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.11.

Altria Group Company Profile

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.