Advisors Capital Management LLC Purchases 9,901 Shares of Altria Group (MO)

Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Altria Group (NYSE:MO) by 5.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 198,815 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,901 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up 1.2% of Advisors Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $14,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 133.3% in the first quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. now owns 1,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Advantage Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the fourth quarter worth $116,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 4.7% in the first quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 97.4% in the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 821 shares during the period. Finally, Feltz Wealth PLAN Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the first quarter worth $134,000. 61.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of Altria Group (NYSE MO) traded down 9.49% during midday trading on Friday, hitting $66.94. 54,403,894 shares of the company were exchanged. The company has a 50-day moving average of $74.51 and a 200 day moving average of $73.00. The company has a market capitalization of $129.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group has a one year low of $60.01 and a one year high of $77.79.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 56.98% and a return on equity of 59.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Altria Group will post $3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 13th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 32.19%.

Altria Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 27th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 0.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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A number of brokerages have weighed in on MO. Cowen and Company set a $78.00 price target on shares of Altria Group and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Vetr upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $74.89 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 3rd. Piper Jaffray Companies started coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Group LLC restated a “hold” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (down previously from $71.00) on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.59.

In other Altria Group news, Director Dinyar S. Devitre sold 4,285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.72, for a total transaction of $303,035.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 112,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,952,959.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director George Munoz sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.35, for a total value of $361,750.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Altria Group

Altria Group, Inc is a holding company. The Company’s segments include smokeable products, smokeless products and wine. The Company’s subsidiaries include Philip Morris USA Inc (PM USA), which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United States; John Middleton Co (Middleton), which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of machine-made cigars and pipe tobacco, and UST LLC (UST), which, through its subsidiaries, including U.S.