Quarry LP Increases Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Quarry LP raised its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 60.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,498 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,313 shares during the period. Quarry LP’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $159,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% in the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. UBS Group upped their target price 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. Barclays increased 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Bank of America increased 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.67.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $51.04 on Tuesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $54.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.67 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $51.53 and a 200-day moving average of $47.20.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. 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.