1ST Source Bank Boosts Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

1ST Source Bank grew its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,074 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the quarter. 1ST Source Bank’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 18.5% during the second quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. SP Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 8,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Certuity LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 13,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conning Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 2.3% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 9,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MO. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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 Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.67.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $52.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $50.89 and a 200-day moving average of $46.46. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 82.01%.

Altria Group Company 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.