AGF Management Ltd. Makes New Investment in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 29,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,351,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 12,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Altria Group by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 953 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth $217,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 76,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,087,000 after purchasing an additional 3,827 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $52.96 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $50.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.46. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $54.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.70%. This is an increase 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 82.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.