Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Acquires 26,795 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 616,899 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,795 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $28,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Albion Financial Group UT increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 49.1% during the first quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 2,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 911 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,027,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,960,000 after acquiring an additional 16,541 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 57,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,304,000 after purchasing an additional 11,111 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, &PARTNERS bought a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $556,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $53.01. The company had a trading volume of 4,663,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,422,057. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $48.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.20. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $53.08. The stock has a market cap of $91.05 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.70%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.08.

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.