Public Sector Pension Investment Board Buys 26,853 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 68.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 66,030 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 26,853 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% in the second quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 76,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,489,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. SP Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 8,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 13,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.0% in the second 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $51.05 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $51.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.13. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $54.95. The company has a market capitalization of $87.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.99%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Barclays raised their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Two equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.67.

Altria Group 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.