23,543 Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Acquired by Seven Eight Capital LP

Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 23,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,072,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 18.5% during the second quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. SP Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% in the second quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 8,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 13,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conning Inc. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 9,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.67.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $50.39 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $51.27 and its 200-day moving average is $46.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.55 billion, a PE ratio of 10.54, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.10%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.