Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Purchased by Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC

Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 25.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,362 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $199,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Altria Group by 154.4% in the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter valued at $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $51.21 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $87.38 billion, a PE ratio of 10.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.40 and a 200-day moving average of $46.98. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.97%. 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.