Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Position Lessened by Heritage Investors Management Corp

Heritage Investors Management Corp trimmed its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,789 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,799 shares during the period. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,490,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Clarity Financial LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 16.2% during the third quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 22,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after buying an additional 3,102 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in Altria Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 353,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,024,000 after buying an additional 6,143 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 5.0% during the third quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 17,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $899,000 after buying an additional 831 shares in the last quarter. United Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group by 15.3% during the third quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 27,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after buying an additional 3,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. raised its holdings in Altria Group by 14.1% during the third quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 6,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.6 %

MO stock opened at $54.18 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $54.95. The company has a market cap of $92.44 billion, a PE ratio of 9.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.66.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.53%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Barclays raised their target price on 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 lowered their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.17.

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.