Brandywine Trust Co. maintained its position in shares of Altria Group (NYSE:MO) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,814 shares of the company’s stock at the end of the first quarter. Altria Group accounts for approximately 1.5% of Brandywine Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Brandywine Trust Co.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Advantage Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $116,000. Feltz Wealth PLAN Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $134,000. Acropolis Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Genovese Burford & Brothers Wealth & Retirement Plan Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 102.5% in the first quarter. Genovese Burford & Brothers Wealth & Retirement Plan Management LLC now owns 2,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,000 after buying an additional 1,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,000 after buying an additional 8 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.97% of the company’s stock.
Shares of Altria Group (NYSE:MO) opened at 65.52 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $73.93 and a 200-day moving average of $73.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.32 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 0.61. Altria Group has a 1-year low of $60.01 and a 1-year high of $77.79.
Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.01. Altria Group had a return on equity of 59.50% and a net margin of 56.98%. The firm had revenue of $4.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group will post $3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Altria Group declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 27th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 0.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 13th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.19%.
Several analysts recently commented on MO shares. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Vetr cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $74.89 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Altria Group from an “underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $62.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, July 31st. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. Finally, Piper Jaffray Companies set a $76.00 price target on shares of Altria Group and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.91.
In other Altria Group news, Director Dinyar S. Devitre sold 4,285 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.72, for a total transaction of $303,035.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 112,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,952,959.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director George Munoz sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.35, for a total value of $361,750.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.
Altria Group Company Profile
Altria Group, Inc is a holding company. The Company’s segments include smokeable products, smokeless products and wine. The Company’s subsidiaries include Philip Morris USA Inc (PM USA), which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United States; John Middleton Co (Middleton), which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of machine-made cigars and pipe tobacco, and UST LLC (UST), which, through its subsidiaries, including U.S.
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