Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Has $1.53 Million Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC trimmed its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,484 shares of the company’s stock after selling 358 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 120.6% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,201,000 after purchasing an additional 4,789,788 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 103.9% in the fourth quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 1,803,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,742,000 after buying an additional 919,058 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 131.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,418,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,211,000 after acquiring an additional 805,051 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Altria Group by 415.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 984,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,935,000 after purchasing an additional 793,327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 56.4% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,059,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,065,000 after buying an additional 742,896 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MO opened at $54.08 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $54.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.47 and a 200-day moving average of $46.24. The company has a market capitalization of $92.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.54%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on MO shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America lifted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Two equities research 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.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.67.

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.