Perennial Investment Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,650 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,027 shares during the quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% in the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 2.3 %

MO opened at $50.50 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $51.08 and its 200 day moving average is $46.64. The company has a market cap of $86.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $54.95.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $1.02 dividend. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.08%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Two 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.67.

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.