Bank of Montreal Can Has $137.37 Million Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,015,691 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,270 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.18% of Altria Group worth $137,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 349 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Altria Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Altria Group stock opened at $51.02 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $54.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $51.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.92. The company has a market capitalization of $87.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67, a P/E/G 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.00%. 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.