Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 33,253 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 52.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,791 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,253 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 41.5% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 8,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 2,492 shares during the last quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Altria Group by 30.2% during the 1st quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 9,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 2,133 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,866,000. Councilmark Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $347,000. Finally, Resolute Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.4% in the first quarter. Resolute Advisors LLC now owns 11,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO stock opened at $55.40 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $55.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $51.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.09.

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. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.36%. This is a boost from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.33.

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.