Sei Investments Co. Grows Stock Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 4.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,097,005 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 42,904 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.06% of Altria Group worth $49,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MO. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Altria Group by 154.4% during the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Price Performance

MO opened at $50.39 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.85. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.06 and a 1-year high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.10%. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.67.

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.