Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stock Holdings Lessened by Davis Capital Management

Davis Capital Management cut its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,852 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $707,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 49.1% in the 1st quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 2,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 911 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 1.6% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,027,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,960,000 after purchasing an additional 16,541 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 7.2% in the first quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 251,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,476,000 after buying an additional 10,079 shares during the period. Finally, &PARTNERS acquired a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at $556,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MO. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.67.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock opened at $50.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $86.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.06 and a 52 week high of $54.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $51.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.27.

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

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.36%.

Altria Group Company 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.