Trek Financial LLC Buys 3,599 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Trek Financial LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 52.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,456 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,599 shares during the period. Trek Financial LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MO. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 26,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,220,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 19,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 21,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $987,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. 58.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.8 %

Altria Group stock opened at $44.08 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.35 and a 52 week high of $51.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $44.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.14. The stock has a market cap of $78.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.31. Altria Group had a net margin of 27.40% and a negative return on equity of 225.61%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 10th. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 98.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.50.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; cigars and pipe tobacco principally under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco products and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; and on! oral nicotine pouches.