Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC Buys 58,984 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 444.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 72,242 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,984 shares during the quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group increased 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. Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.67.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE MO opened at $51.05 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $54.95. The company has a market capitalization of $87.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $51.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.15.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.99%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.