Buck Wealth Strategies LLC Boosts Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

by · The Cerbat Gem

Buck Wealth Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO – Free Report) by 25.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,696 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,378 shares during the period. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 226.3% in the 1st quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 51.8% in the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on MO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price target on Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.11.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on MO

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO opened at $61.93 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.55. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.88 and a 1 year high of $68.60. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.90.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $1.06 per share. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

About Altria Group

(Free Report)

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.

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