Aprio Wealth Management LLC Makes New $246,000 Investment in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Aprio Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 404,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,248,000 after acquiring an additional 6,324 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $974,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,711,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,690,000 after acquiring an additional 89,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at $498,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.50.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MO traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $43.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,890,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,807,432. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $44.38 and a 200-day moving average of $45.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.59. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $40.35 and a 12-month high of $51.57.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31. Altria Group had a net margin of 27.40% and a negative return on equity of 225.61%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 10th. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.08%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 102.89%.

Altria Group Profile

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