Brighton Jones LLC Has $2.16 Million Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 103.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 35,981 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,279 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp lifted its position in Altria Group by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lifted its position in Altria Group by 3.1% in the first quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Skyline Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.2% during the first quarter. Skyline Advisors Inc. now owns 9,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $555,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 13,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO opened at $59.74 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $43.92 and a one year high of $61.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MO. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $60.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.00.

About Altria Group

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.