First Merchants Corp Buys Shares of 10,362 Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

First Merchants Corp purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 10,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 154.4% during the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $52.44 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $52.46. The company has a market cap of $90.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.08.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MO. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.08.

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.