Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 66.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,424 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,162 shares during the quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 18.5% during the second quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 76,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,489,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 2.5% during the second quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 8,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 1.6% during the second quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 13,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 2.0% during the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $50.39 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $86.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.85. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $54.95.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.67.

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.