Cornerstone Advisory LLC Has $690,000 Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Cornerstone Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,941 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 468 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of MO stock opened at $59.46 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $58.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.61. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.83 and a 52 week high of $61.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.15 billion, a PE ratio of 9.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Altria Group had a net margin of 46.90% and a negative return on equity of 258.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.86%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MO. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.00.

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.