TCW Group Inc. Has $1.84 Million Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

TCW Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,018 shares of the company’s stock after selling 714 shares during the quarter. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 420.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $55.01 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.25 and a one year high of $58.03. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $53.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.71. The company has a market capitalization of $93.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.29, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.63.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 negative return on equity of 233.80% and a net margin of 42.82%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on MO shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised Altria Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Altria Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.33.

Altria Group 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.