Good Life Advisors LLC Raises Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 78,231 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,662 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Ellevest Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 346.7% in the 1st quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 670 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 153.8% during the first quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the period. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 58.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Altria Group from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. StockNews.com started coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.50.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $43.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $77.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $44.38 and a 200 day moving average of $45.05. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.35 and a 12 month high of $51.57.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

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

Altria Group Company 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.