Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by AE Wealth Management LLC

AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 88.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 599,104 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 281,702 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $27,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.67.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO opened at $50.23 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $51.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.69. The stock has a market cap of $86.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.12%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

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.