Koss Olinger Consulting LLC Purchases New Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Koss Olinger Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group in the second quarter worth $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 63.9% in the second quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $49.07 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $54.95. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.88.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. Altria Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.31%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MO shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Altria Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.20.

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.