DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP Has $3.21 Million Position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP trimmed its position in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 8.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 70,512 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,487 shares during the period. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $3,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Altria Group by 154.4% during the 1st quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the period. BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Altria Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Altria Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 57.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of MO stock opened at $51.04 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.98. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.06 and a 1 year high of $54.95.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last issued 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). Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. Altria Group’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This is a positive change from Altria Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.99%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MO. UBS Group boosted their target price 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. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.67.

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.