Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by NewEdge Advisors LLC

NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 199,865 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $9,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $27,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $51.04 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $54.95. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.20. The firm has a market cap of $87.67 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued 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 negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. 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. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.99%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 85.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About Altria Group

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.