First Citizens Financial Corp Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

First Citizens Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Great Waters Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $246,000. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 131,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,940,000 after acquiring an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 21.8% during the 2nd quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 22,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 4,100 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in Altria Group by 35.8% during the 2nd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 8,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 2,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MADDEN SECURITIES Corp raised its position in Altria Group by 44.0% in the 2nd quarter. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp now owns 15,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 4,776 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.94% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $43.51 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.35 and a fifty-two week high of $51.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.08.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31. Altria Group had a net margin of 27.40% and a negative return on equity of 225.61%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 10th. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.01%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 102.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 22nd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.50.

Altria Group Profile

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; cigars and pipe tobacco principally under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco products and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; and on! oral nicotine pouches.