Patten Group Inc. Invests $224,000 in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Patten Group Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 154.4% during the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Down 1.1 %

Altria Group stock opened at $49.67 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 70.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.17.

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.