Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC Acquires 2,471 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,823 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,471 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Altria Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,011,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,727,000 after purchasing an additional 4,789 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 49.1% during the first quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 2,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 911 shares during the period. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 5,418 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Altria Group

In related news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total value of $988,303.65. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock opened at $45.95 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $47.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $45.38 and a 200 day moving average of $42.83. The company has a market cap of $78.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

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.