Kwmg LLC Has $5.14 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Kwmg LLC increased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 117,920 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,214 shares during the period. Kwmg LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 20,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 3,430 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 29,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 4,633 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 25,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 2,750 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 752,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,657,000 after purchasing an additional 77,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MO. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Monday, March 25th. 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 report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.36. The company had a trading volume of 7,289,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,245,390. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $47.19. The company has a market cap of $79.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.73, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $44.93 and a 200 day moving average of $42.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue 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 year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.