Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. Purchases 2,172 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 181.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,369 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Delta Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 18.5% during the second quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP grew its stake in Altria Group by 3.5% in the third quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 1.1% in the third quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 18,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $942,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% during the second quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 76,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,489,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MO. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.20.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of MO stock opened at $49.92 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $54.95. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.95. The firm has a market cap of $85.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. 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 yield of 8.17%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is 85.36%.

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.