Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Acquires 63,628 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO - Free Report) by 3,341.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,532 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 63,628 shares during the quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC's holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Delta Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 2.9% during the second quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 18.5% in the second quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 18,454 shares of the company's stock valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management grew its holdings in Altria Group by 0.3% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $49.71. The stock had a trading volume of 5,325,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,847,107. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $54.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.82 billion, a PE ratio of 8.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.02.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.21%. This is a positive change from Altria Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America dropped their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com cut Altria Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.