Apollon Wealth Management LLC Purchases 268 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 75,865 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 268 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 103.2% during the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 1,800.0% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $43.85. 12,050,526 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,849,357. The company has a market capitalization of $75.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.15, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $42.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.49. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $46.82.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.94%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. UBS Group raised their target price 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 reissued a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.