Alley Investment Management Company LLC Has $1.92 Million Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Alley Investment Management Company LLC reduced its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,159 shares of the company’s stock after selling 790 shares during the period. Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Scarborough Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 18.5% during the second quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 76,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,489,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 8,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 13,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.0% during the second quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE MO opened at $51.21 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.98. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $54.95.

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 business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. 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. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.97%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 85.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.