Mosley Wealth Management Purchases 558 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Mosley Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,540 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the quarter. Mosley Wealth Management’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% in the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $27,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.1 %

Altria Group stock traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $53.69. 8,207,736 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,317,011. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $54.95. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.23, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.60%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.58.

Altria Group Company 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.