Souders Financial Advisors Acquires Shares of 4,550 Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Souders Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 154.4% during the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $50.93 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $54.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.25.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.01%. 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 is 85.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Altria Group 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.