SageGuard Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 12,395 Altria Group, Inc. $MO

SageGuard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kercheville Advisors LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 3.7% in the third quarter. Kercheville Advisors LLC now owns 4,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 2.9% in the third quarter. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR increased its stake in Altria Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 50,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,356,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its stake in Altria Group by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 1,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 2.4% in the third quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 7,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Charles N. Whitaker sold 27,908 shares of Altria Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.57, for a total transaction of $1,885,743.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 180,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,221,318.33. This trade represents a 13.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on MO. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Altria Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Altria Group from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.88.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.7%

MO stock opened at $64.60 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.70 and a 1-year high of $70.51. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.97 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.41.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. The company had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be paid a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.16%.

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.