Principal Securities Inc. Acquires 3,738 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 70,295 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,738 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in Altria Group by 2.7% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 153,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,816,000 after purchasing an additional 4,004 shares during the period. IRON Financial LLC bought a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at $723,000. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc bought a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at $223,000. Financial Advocates Investment Management bought a new position in Altria Group during the third quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 1.7% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 87,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $53.87 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $54.95. The company has a market cap of $91.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $51.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.38.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.02. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MO. StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays increased their price objective on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.17.

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.