Bank of Montreal Can Acquires 6,270 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,015,691 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,270 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $137,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on MO shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on 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 given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.67.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $51.02 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.92. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $54.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.63 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.00%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.36%.

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.