Sage Capital Advisors llc Acquires 1,485 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Sage Capital Advisors llc lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 1.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 114,178 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,485 shares during the period. Altria Group comprises about 1.5% of Sage Capital Advisors llc’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Sage Capital Advisors llc’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $5,828,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Delta Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 2.9% in the second quarter. Delta Investment Management LLC now owns 7,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 0.3% during the second quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 76,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,489,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. SP Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% in the second quarter. SP Asset Management LLC now owns 8,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Certuity LLC grew its stake in Altria Group by 1.6% during the second quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 13,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. 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. Bank of America boosted their target price on Altria Group from $52.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Citigroup raised their price target on Altria Group from $44.50 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Altria Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.17.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Shares of MO opened at $49.55 on Wednesday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $54.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $51.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.40. The firm has a market cap of $85.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.65.

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 business had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 boost 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 8.23%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.36%.

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.