Sound Income Strategies LLC Buys 1,203 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 30.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,107 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,203 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $59.74 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.92 and a fifty-two week high of $61.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $58.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.09.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two 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 an average target price of $56.00.

Altria Group 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.