Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Shares Acquired by Quest Partners LLC

Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 270,313.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,491 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 59,469 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up about 0.4% of Quest Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,279,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $535,701,000 after purchasing an additional 242,442 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Altria Group by 120.6% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,201,000 after purchasing an additional 4,789,788 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Altria Group by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,060,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,510,000 after acquiring an additional 243,201 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in Altria Group by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,888,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,655,000 after buying an additional 215,594 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.5% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 3,754,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,772,000 after acquiring an additional 54,096 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

NYSE:MO opened at $53.69 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $91.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $54.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $50.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.06.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 7.60%. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 82.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Altria Group from $37.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Two equities research 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, Altria Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.58.

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.