Armistice Capital LLC Buys New Shares in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Armistice Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 8,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $367,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 921 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 9.8% in the second quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 81,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,726,000 after acquiring an additional 7,323 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in Altria Group by 55.3% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 328,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,985,000 after acquiring an additional 117,158 shares during the period. Finally, Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.9% during the second quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 20,424 shares of the company’s stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $51.08 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.01. The stock has a market cap of $87.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 85.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Bank of America lifted 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective 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. UBS Group increased 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, September 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.67.

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.