Hennessy Advisors Inc. Has $8.36 Million Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 74.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 191,700 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 81,700 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $8,362,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% in the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at Altria Group

In other 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 value of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 173,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of MO stock traded down $0.04 on Friday, reaching $45.42. The company had a trading volume of 3,796,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,186,261. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.01 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $47.19. The business’s 50-day moving average is $45.04 and its 200 day moving average is $42.69.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.63%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 82.01%.

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.