Viking Fund Management LLC Has $7.86 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Viking Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 180,250 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,650 shares during the period. Altria Group comprises approximately 1.4% of Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $7,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $578,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CFM Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC now owns 81,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,304,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Charles N. Whitaker sold 22,487 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.95, for a total transaction of $988,303.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 173,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,624,665.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MO. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Down 2.2 %

MO stock traded down $1.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $45.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,572,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,223,337. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $47.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $45.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.69.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.15. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 222.80% and a net margin of 34.81%. The business had revenue of $4.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.64%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

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.