Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Altria Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp now owns 4,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised shares of Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.29.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $57.62 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $54.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.48. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $40.65 and a one year high of $59.67. The firm has a market cap of $97.41 billion, a PE ratio of 8.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 258.72% and a net margin of 46.90%. Research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.08%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.29%.

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.