Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Raises Stake in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,835 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,557 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $6,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 335,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,158,000 after buying an additional 26,624 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,522,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,677,000 after acquiring an additional 44,303 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 1.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,717,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,364,216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599,923 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its stake in Altria Group by 155.4% in the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 31,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,062,000 after acquiring an additional 18,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $126,471,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.6%

Altria Group stock opened at $66.98 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $60.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.12. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.40 and a twelve month high of $68.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.47.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.02). Altria Group had a net margin of 29.84% and a negative return on equity of 287.61%. The company had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.16%.

Altria Group declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on MO shares. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Altria Group from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.67.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.