Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Bought by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 729.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,969,262 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,731,932 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $100,511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MO. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 170.4% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 101,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,409,000 after buying an additional 63,701 shares during the period. PFG Advisors raised its stake in Altria Group by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 6,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Altria Group by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Altria Group by 33.2% in the 1st quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 3,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Altria Group by 36.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,054,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,980,000 after purchasing an additional 283,069 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.33.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MO traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.05. 5,712,292 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,669,546. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $55.05. The company’s 50-day moving average is $51.50 and its 200-day moving average is $48.85.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The company’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.55%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

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.