Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Purchases 234 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,689 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 12,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $217,000. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 13,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MO shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock 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, Bank of America boosted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.67.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of MO opened at $52.64 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.33. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $54.95. The stock has a market cap of $90.42 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.75%. Altria Group’s payout ratio 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.