Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by OmniStar Financial Group Inc.

OmniStar Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 95.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,784 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,532 shares during the quarter. Altria Group comprises about 1.2% of OmniStar Financial Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. OmniStar Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Delta Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company's stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its stake 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 valued at $3,489,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SP Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% in the second quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 8,211 shares of the company's stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $49.61. 7,146,251 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,961,041. The company has a market cap of $85.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $47.75. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This is a boost from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.22%. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MO. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.20.

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.