First Personal Financial Services Buys 350 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

First Personal Financial Services boosted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 41.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,191 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services’ holdings in Altria Group were worth $54,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 11,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 2.3% in the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 9,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 14,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 14,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 2,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $0.41 on Friday, hitting $53.77. 7,950,990 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,355,649. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.40. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $53.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The company had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.59%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MO. Argus raised shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. 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. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.08.

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.