Balentine LLC Boosts Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Balentine LLC lifted its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,259 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the period. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MO. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.17.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $54.18 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $54.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $51.47 and a 200 day moving average of $48.66. The company has a market capitalization of $92.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.15, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.64.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share 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 dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.53%. Altria Group’s 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.