Centaurus Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 17,827 Altria Group, Inc. $MO

Centaurus Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 17,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,283,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,806,782,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter worth $1,104,566,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Altria Group in the second quarter valued at $631,606,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,516,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,777,931,000 after purchasing an additional 6,265,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter valued at about $349,743,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $67.66 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $54.70 and a one year high of $77.06. The company has a market cap of $112.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.11 and a 200-day moving average of $68.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.50 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $5.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.99% and a negative return on equity of 315.29%. Altria Group’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.610-5.720 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.11 per share. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays dropped their price target on Altria Group from $64.00 to $58.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Altria Group from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.11.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc (NYSE: MO) is a U.S.-based consumer goods company whose principal business is the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, the company’s operations are focused primarily on the U.S. market and include the production, marketing and distribution of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and cigars. Its flagship cigarette franchise in the United States is sold through its operating subsidiaries and is among the most recognizable cigarette brands in the country.

Altria’s principal operating businesses include Philip Morris USA (cigarettes), U.S.