Stonegate Investment Group LLC Makes New Investment in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO – Get Rating) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 50,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,385,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. TAP Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Shore Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, AHL Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.05% of the company’s stock.

MO stock traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $54.27. The company had a trading volume of 199,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,485,879. The company has a market capitalization of $98.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.77, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $53.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.93. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $42.53 and a 1 year high of $57.05.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 28th. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.88 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 11.64% and a negative return on equity of 2,506.92%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.07 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 25th were paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 24th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.63%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 219.51%.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $57.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Friday, April 29th. Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $51.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 7th. Cowen increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $51.00 to $53.00 in a report on Thursday, April 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Altria Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $58.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.75.

Altria Group Profile (Get Rating)

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; cigars and pipe tobacco principally under the Black & Mild brand; and moist smokeless tobacco products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands, as well as provides on! oral nicotine pouches.

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