Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 9.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,677,025 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 224,206 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $121,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% during the 1st 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 acquired a new position in Altria Group during the first quarter worth $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter worth $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.67.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO stock opened at $52.64 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $50.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.75%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio 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.