Mackenzie Financial Corp Sells 12,957 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lowered its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,905,643 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,957 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $86,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 154.4% in the first quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Altria Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. BNP Paribas bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth $27,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Altria Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altria Group Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Altria Group stock opened at $51.04 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.06 and a 12 month high of $54.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $51.50 and a 200 day moving average of $47.10. The firm has a market cap of $87.67 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.04). The firm 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This is a positive change 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 7.99%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MO. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.