EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 51.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,813 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,993 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 period. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Altria Group Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $51.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its 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). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS 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 $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.97%. 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%.

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.