BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC Buys Shares of 11,702 Altria Group, Inc. $MO

BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 11,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $675,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 267,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,524 shares during the last quarter. Dorato Capital Management purchased a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $110,000. Abacus Planning Group Inc. grew its stake in Altria Group by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 4,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $769,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 80.7% during the fourth quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 60,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,477,000 after buying an additional 26,924 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $65.73 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.82 and a fifty-two week high of $70.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.53.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.02 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.5%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 103.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total value of $1,885,743.56. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,221,318.33. This represents a 13.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.