Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA acquired a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 25,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,173,000. Altria Group comprises about 1.4% of Wedgewood Investors Inc. PA’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. lifted 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MO. Barclays lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.08.

View Our Latest Research Report on MO

Altria Group Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $52.44. The company had a trading volume of 9,149,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,471,797. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $48.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.11. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $52.46. The stock has a market cap of $90.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.78%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Altria Group Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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