Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC

Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 30.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,269 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,954 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Altria Group by 13.2% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 875,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,832,000 after buying an additional 101,937 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 70,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,964,000 after purchasing an additional 6,720 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 10.9% during the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 11,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Gratus Capital LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 16.7% during the third quarter. Gratus Capital LLC now owns 6,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simmons Bank increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.4% during the third quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 41,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,746,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO traded up $0.37 during trading on Thursday, reaching $44.66. The stock had a trading volume of 4,302,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,740,313. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $46.46. The stock has a market cap of $76.71 billion, a PE ratio of 9.35, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.62 and a 200-day moving average of $41.50.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Altria Group declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MO shares. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group 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.