Maia Wealth LLC Purchases New Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Maia Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 5,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the first quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 14,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 14,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 12.1% during the first quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 2,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 7.0% in the first quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triumph Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the first quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 15,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.2 %

MO traded down $0.08 on Wednesday, reaching $51.03. The company had a trading volume of 270,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,570,280. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $51.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.65 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $47.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.50.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Altria Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Bank of America raised their target price on Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.90.

About Altria Group

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.