Capital Square LLC Reduces Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Capital Square LLC decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,046 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,439 shares during the period. Altria Group makes up about 1.8% of Capital Square LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Capital Square LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,060,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Altria Group by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP grew its position in Altria Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Institute for Advanced Investment Management LLP now owns 5,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Altria Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. Ridgecrest Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MO. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America decreased their target price on Altria Group from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays upped their price target on Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.33.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $57.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 733,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,671,187. The company’s 50 day moving average is $51.87 and its 200 day moving average is $49.73. The stock has a market cap of $96.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.64. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $57.20.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.