IMS Capital Management Makes New Investment in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

IMS Capital Management acquired a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MO. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 111.8% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 17,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $875,000 after acquiring an additional 9,054 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,159,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,679,000 after purchasing an additional 46,697 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Altria Group by 10.7% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 218,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,168,000 after buying an additional 21,128 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in Altria Group by 48.8% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 89,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,581,000 after buying an additional 29,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 42.4% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $958,000 after buying an additional 5,593 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Trading Down 1.0 %

Altria Group stock opened at $54.14 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $58.03. The company’s 50-day moving average is $53.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.01. The company has a market cap of $91.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.15, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.63.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.33 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.82% and a negative return on equity of 233.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. Altria Group’s payout ratio is 68.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Altria Group from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.