Hancock Whitney Corp Has $2.73 Million Stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 5.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,030 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,021 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Albion Financial Group UT boosted 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% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,027,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,960,000 after acquiring an additional 16,541 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Altria Group by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. &PARTNERS bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 1st quarter worth $556,000. Finally, Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group in the 4th quarter worth $982,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Performance

NYSE MO opened at $50.39 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $86.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.81. Altria Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.06 and a 52-week high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is an increase from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.10%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MO. Argus upgraded Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Altria Group from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Bank of America lifted 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.67.

About Altria Group

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.