Thompson Investment Management Inc. Has $77,000 Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Thompson Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 20.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,764 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $77,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 75,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,297,000 after buying an additional 2,608 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% during the first quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 63,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth $36,000. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 39.2% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 3,421 shares during the period. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth $205,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $46.43. The company had a trading volume of 10,517,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,301,574. The company has a market capitalization of $79.75 billion, a PE ratio of 9.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $44.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.63. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $47.19.

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, hitting 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 business 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 business earned $1.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.44%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group upped their target price on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

About Altria Group

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.