Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 254,535 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,479 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $15,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MO. Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 226.3% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $65.82 on Monday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $48.86 and a one year high of $66.29. The firm has a market cap of $110.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.34.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.13.

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.