Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Buys 4,686 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 82.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,395 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,686 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $453,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% during 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 during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc acquired a new position in Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 103.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of MO traded down $0.01 on Tuesday, hitting $43.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,552,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,975,853. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $42.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.47. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $48.04.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The company had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 82.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on MO shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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 issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.