Legacy Advisors LLC Acquires 1,067 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Legacy Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,955 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $510,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Altria Group by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,279,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,701,000 after buying an additional 242,442 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 120.6% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,201,000 after acquiring an additional 4,789,788 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Altria Group by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,681,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,870,000 after acquiring an additional 617,900 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in Altria Group by 1.5% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 3,754,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,772,000 after purchasing an additional 54,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in Altria Group by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,225,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,110,000 after purchasing an additional 64,062 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.41 on Friday, hitting $53.77. The stock had a trading volume of 8,010,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,355,649. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $49.35 and a 200 day moving average of $45.50. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.06 and a twelve month high of $53.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The company’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.36%.

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.