Northcape Wealth Management LLC Buys 2,187 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Northcape Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,608 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,187 shares during the quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 63.9% in the 2nd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE MO opened at $55.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $94.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.22. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $56.32.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.29%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MO. UBS Group increased their price target 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 lifted their target price on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.33.

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.