Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,455 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,636 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,478,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 12,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 953 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 33,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,355,000 after buying an additional 3,994 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.1 %

Altria Group stock opened at $53.69 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $54.95. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.06. The company has a market capitalization of $91.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays upped their target price on Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.58.

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.