Silver Oak Securities Incorporated Acquires 1,372 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 13.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,550 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,372 shares during the quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.0 %

Altria Group stock opened at $43.81 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $48.04. The company has a market cap of $75.25 billion, a PE ratio of 9.17, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50-day moving average is $42.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.95%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Altria Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

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.