Continental Investors Services Inc. Takes Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Continental Investors Services Inc. acquired a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO – Get Rating) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 10,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $457,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 18.6% in the third quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 1,931 shares during the period. Insight Advisors LLC PA boosted its position in Altria Group by 48.2% during the 3rd quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 8,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 2,650 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,920,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 37,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,844 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Altria Group by 13.8% in the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 34,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 4,164 shares in the last quarter. 58.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $46.50 to $49.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.13.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $45.32 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $40.35 and a one year high of $57.05. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $46.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.32. The company has a market capitalization of $80.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 284.29% and a net margin of 22.97%. The business had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 24th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 23rd. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 117.87%.

Altria Group Profile

(Get Rating)

Altria Group, Inc operates as a holding company, which engages in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United States. It operates through the following segments: Smokeable Products, Oral tobacco products, and Wine. The Smokeable Products segment consists of cigarettes manufactured and sold by PM USA and machine-made large cigars and pipe tobacco manufactured and sold by Middleton.