Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO – Get Rating) by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 70,031 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,966 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Bromfield Sneider Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Rinkey Investments acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Reitz Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, DB Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 286.2% during the 1st quarter. DB Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 587 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. 59.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays downgraded Altria Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 29th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Altria Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $47.00 to $43.00 in a research note on Friday, June 24th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 8th. Cowen decreased their target price on Altria Group from $56.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 27th. Finally, Cowen decreased their target price on Altria Group from $56.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $47.00.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Altria Group (NYSE:MO – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 28th. The company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 488.86% and a net margin of 6.88%. The business had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Altria Group's revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 4.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 14th. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.08%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 387.63%.

About Altria Group

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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; and moist smokeless tobacco products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands, as well as provides on! oral nicotine pouches.

Further Reading

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