2,434 Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Acquired by Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC

Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $127,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MO. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 163.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 50,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,317,000 after buying an additional 31,568 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 6.4% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 47,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,160,000 after buying an additional 2,848 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 4.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,097,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,969,000 after buying an additional 42,904 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 5.9% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 234,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,671,000 after buying an additional 13,086 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 66.5% in the second quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $772,000 after buying an additional 6,162 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $51.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $58.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $54.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.03.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.86%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MO. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Altria Group in a report on Thursday, January 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.43.

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.