Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Buys 77,951 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 468,852 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 77,951 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $21,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 154.4% during the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $50.55 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $51.15 and a 200-day moving average of $46.67. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $54.95. The company has a market capitalization of $86.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.07%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 85.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.67.

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.