WealthPLAN Partners LLC Has $799,000 Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

WealthPLAN Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,546 shares of the company’s stock after selling 445 shares during the quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% during the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $50.50 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $54.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The business’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on MO shares. Barclays raised 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. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group upped 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.