Sentry Investment Management LLC Has $899,000 Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,603 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 831 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $899,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 63.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Fairman Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 85.1% in the third quarter. Fairman Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO opened at $53.88 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $54.95. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.57.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is an increase 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 7.57%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.17.

Altria Group Company 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.