Founders Capital Management boosted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO – Get Rating) by 130.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,011 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. Founders Capital Management's holdings in Altria Group were worth $42,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bromfield Sneider Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Rinkey Investments purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Reitz Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, DB Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 286.2% in the 1st quarter. DB Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 587 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.75% of the company's stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE MO traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $41.03. The stock had a trading volume of 153,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,321,525. The firm's 50 day moving average is $44.19 and its 200 day moving average is $48.22. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.61 and a twelve month high of $57.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.39, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 15th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This is an increase from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 14th. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 387.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MO. Morgan Stanley upgraded Altria Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $47.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Friday, June 24th. Cowen lowered their price objective on Altria Group from $56.00 to $45.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Altria Group from $60.00 to $46.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered Altria Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $53.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $47.00.

Altria Group Company Profile

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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.

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