Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by Summit Trail Advisors LLC

Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 138.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,901 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 57,962 shares during the quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $4,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 154.4% in the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Altria Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $50.39 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $54.95. The company has a market capitalization of $86.55 billion, a PE ratio of 10.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.77.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.10%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.