Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) Stock Holdings Increased by Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lifted its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,310 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,309 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Altria Group by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,279,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $535,701,000 after purchasing an additional 242,442 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Altria Group by 120.6% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,201,000 after buying an additional 4,789,788 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Altria Group by 5.0% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,060,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,510,000 after acquiring an additional 243,201 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its position in Altria Group by 4.6% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,888,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,655,000 after acquiring an additional 215,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 3,754,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,772,000 after acquiring an additional 54,096 shares during the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $50.23 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $86.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s fifty day moving average is $51.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.69. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $39.06 and a 12-month high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 232.55% and a net margin of 42.25%. The business had revenue of $6.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.