Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by KPP Advisory Services LLC

KPP Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 60,118 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares during the quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MO. Founders Financial Alliance LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 62,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,824,000 after buying an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.8% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,001,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,630,000 after acquiring an additional 17,471 shares during the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 1.2% during the second quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 66,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,089,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,992,000. Finally, Ted Buchan & Co purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $533,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.67.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $51.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.20. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $54.95. The company has a market capitalization of $87.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm 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 firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Altria Group’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 7.99%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.