Atomi Financial Group Inc. Raises Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,566 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,851 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Delta Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 76,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,489,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. SP Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 8,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Certuity LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 13,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $49.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $54.95. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted 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 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.21%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.17.

About Altria Group

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.