Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC

Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 345.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,790 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,468 shares during the quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% in the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MO. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group upped 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.67.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $50.55 on Thursday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $54.95. The firm has a market cap of $86.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $51.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.67.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion during 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 was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.07%. 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 currently 85.36%.

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.