Lmcg Investments LLC Has $573,000 Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Lmcg Investments LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,585 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,493 shares during the quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% in the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of MO opened at $50.50 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its 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). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.08%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.