Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC Acquires 2,163 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 20.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,619 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,163 shares during the period. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 4.9% in the first quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 22,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,367,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Benin Management CORP acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at about $225,000. Iams Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at about $209,000. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at about $213,000. Finally, Apella Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 79.9% during the first quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 7,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.00.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO opened at $59.31 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.83 and a 1 year high of $61.26. The company has a market capitalization of $99.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $58.46 and a 200-day moving average of $55.97.

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

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.88%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Altria Group Company 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.